Cannot roll up anymore! The market value of American electric vehicle startups Rivian, Lucid, and Fisker has plummeted. Will they be acquired or face their ultimate fate?

In recent years, Tesla's competitors Rivian (RIVN.US), Lucid (LCID.US), and Fisker (FSR.US) were once favored by investors, with these electric car manufacturers having high market values and seemingly bright prospects. However, the current situation is far from expectations. The electric vehicle industry is facing slowed growth, and even market leader Tesla has warned of challenges in the coming months. But for these less mature competitors, the term "challenge" seems insufficient to describe their current predicament. Rivian recently announced disappointing quarterly performance and outlook forecasts, and stated they would be cutting around 10% of their workforce's salaries. The company's market value has dropped from $153 billion in 2021 to $11 billion. Gene Munster, partner at Deepwater Asset Management, recently suggested the idea of Apple acquiring Rivian, noting its undervaluation and stating, "Apple needs to enter some new markets, they need to make some big moves, and Rivian might be the answer." Of course, this would be an unusual move for Apple. Thus far, Apple's most expensive acquisition was the $3 billion purchase of headphone manufacturer Beats Electronics in 2014. Amazon is Rivian's largest shareholder, holding around 16% of the shares, which have recently taken a big hit. Last month, Elon Musk mentioned Rivian, saying, "They need to drastically cut costs, the management team needs to live in the factory, or else they will go bankrupt." He believes the company has six more quarters until bankruptcy. "The general downturn of electric vehicles" Meanwhile, Lucid's market value has also dropped from $91.4 billion in 2021 to $7.6 billion. Last month, the company stated it can only produce around 9,000 electric cars this year far lower than the projected 90,000 cars by 2024 three years ago. Their predicament led to rumors last year that the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, holding around 60% of Lucid shares, would acquire the rest, but this did not happen. As for Fisker, its market value is currently $258 million, a steep drop from $4.1 billion in 2021. Last month, the company received a notice of non-compliance from the New York Stock Exchange because their stock price averaged below $1 for 30 consecutive trading days. In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating allegations of "unintended vehicle movement" with Fisker's Ocean SUV, which recently received negative reviews from influential YouTube user Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD. According to sources, Fisker is in high-level negotiations with Nissan and seeking financial assistance. As part of the agreement, the Japanese automaker will invest $400 million in Fisker's truck platform and plans to start producing the Alaska pickup truck from 2026. Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker stated he refused to directly address the matter with Nissan but said, "I believe we have a future, or else I wouldn't be here. I believe we can overcome this general downturn of electric vehicles."