Rivian Automotive is looking to gain additional funding to expand their EV business, so they have recently filed for an IPO (initial public offering). Part of filing an IPO is disclosing financial records. Apparently, for Rivian, that meant revealing that the company has sustained losses of almost $1 billion within the first half of 2021.

Rivian Automotive is in an advantageous position. The American EV maker has officially beat Ford, Tesla, and General Motors to the electric truck market with the recent launch of the R1T. Rivian also has financial backing from Amazon.

Rivian losses revealed in IPO

Rivian Automotive confidentially presented paperwork to regulators for its IPO in August but has not publicly announced the terms for the offering. However, Reuters says that according to its sources, the automaker is looking to get a valuation of almost $80 billion and looks to raise $8 billion in the IPO.

In the SEC filing for its IPO, Rivian stated that for the first six months of 2021, its net loss added up to $944 million, up from losses of $377 million in 2020.

It is unclear exactly why the company sustained the net losses, but it could be attributed to many factors the company faced leading up to the production of the Amazon electric delivery van and the R1T. Both vehicles were only recently released.

Can Rivian become profitable?

Currently, Rivian is taking a two-pronged approach to revenue by building Amazon’s fleet of commercial electric delivery vans and its consumer E.V. truck and SUV targeted toward upper-class weekend warriors.

The strategy seems to be working as the EV maker has racked up nearly 50,000 pre-orders for its R1T truck and R1S SUV. On the commercial side, Amazon has ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans. Rivian will list shares on the Nasdaq with the symbol “RIVN.” The automaker is relatively new to the industry. It was founded in 2009, six years after Tesla.

It is possible that Rivian Automotive may reach profitability after delivering its initial run of R1T trucks and R1S SUVs. If the company manages to reach its goal of raising $8 billion from its IPO, it would not be unreasonable to think that the company will turn a profit sooner rather than later.

R1T and R1S aimed at “adventurers”

Rivian was initially founded under the name “Mainstream Motors” by CEO R.J. Scaringe. The name was changed to Rivian in 2011, which is why the company may seem even younger than it actually is. The name “Rivian” comes from the “Indian River” in Florida, where Scaringe spent time row boating when he was young.

Scaringe is positioning Rivian as an “adventure” brand by targeting weekend warriors who are off-road and camping enthusiasts. The R1T and R1S can both be had with rooftop tents as options, and the R1T has an optional $5,000 “camp kitchen.” The kitchen comes with a two-burner electric stove, a complete set of cooking utensils, and even a kitchen sink fed by a 4-gallon water tank.

For those who are especially Earth-conscious or animal lovers, Rivian offers vegan leather interior upholstery. The CEO also announced that Rivian Automotive will put 1% of its equity into an environmental preservation program dubbed “Forever.”

Can Rivian’s eco-friendly adventurous approach equal net gains for the second half of 2021? That remains to be seen.

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