George Soros lost millions in his investment in electric truck startup Rivian; reduces stake after 90% drop from peak

Early last year, we wrote about Billionaire investor George Soros after he bought nearly 20 million shares of electric truck startup Rivian Automotive in December 2021. According to the SEC filings, Soros bought nearly 20 million (a total of 19,835,761) shares, worth about $2 billion, making Soros Fund Management, the family office of George Soros, among the most prominent investors in the Amazon-backed company.

However, as The Street reported in a piece titled, “Rivian Burns Billionaire George Soros,” the market value of Rivian has plunged from its peak of $150 billion just days after a spectacular IPO on November 10, 2021, to just $12.72 billion as of the time of writing. Soros paid around $100 per share at the time. Today, the stock is now trading at $13.54.

Following the massive stock decline, Investing.com reported that Soros Fund Management has cut its holdings in Rivian following the electric automaker’s 90% share decline from its intraday peak in November 2021.

“Soros Fund Management offloaded about 10.8M shares of Rivian stock in the first quarter, resulting in a decrease in the stake’s market value to $55.4M, according to a regulatory filing Friday. The remaining 3.6M shares now account for roughly 1.1% of Soros’s US equities portfolio, which experienced a decline of around $687M during the same quarter,” The Street reported.

According to Fool.com, “Rivian produced a total of 24,337 vehicles in 2022, falling short of its target of 25,000. The company delivered 20,332 vehicles during the year.” But as production fell short, the company reportedly lost $6.8 billion during the same year. Rivian also reported during its earnings calls that it lost $1.7 billion in the final three months of 2022 as it struggled with production challenges.

Meanwhile, Amazon, which owns 20% of Rivian, said it plans to use Rivian vehicles in its delivery fleet, having ordered 100,000 to be handed over by 2030. Amazon expects to have 10,000 Rivian vehicles delivering Amazon packages as early as next year.

Rivian was founded in 2009 by Robert J. Scaringe. It is the world’s first electric adventure vehicle. The company is developing vehicles, technology, and services that inspire people to get out and explore the world. Rivian is an automotive technology company that develops products and services to advance the shift to sustainable mobility.

Below is a screenshot of the Rivian market cap as of today, May 18, 2023.