Rivian Pegged to Challenge Tesla

Morgan Stanley believes startup Rivian will be the first automaker to truly challenge Tesla, and that’s already making waves. In a move that may or may not be related, Automotive News reports both GM and Amazon are in talks to become stakeholders in Rivian, showing that the company could quickly become financially robust.

Adam Jonas, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, estimates Tesla makes about 80 percent of the electric vehicles sold in the United States at the moment. That’s tremendous dominance, but it won’t last for long.

Since Rivian unveiled its R1T electric truck in Los Angeles last year, it’s become the talk of the auto industry. While its products so far look compelling, there are many other startup electric automakers that also seem poised to carve out a healthy niche in the market.

According to Jonas, Morgan Stanley doesn’t think traditional automakers can be very successful at taking on Tesla. Instead, the firm thinks a “clean sheet” angle, or a vehicle that isn’t based on an internal-combustion model, is needed. That’s funny, because some traditional automakers have such products, such as Audi and Porsche. Perhaps Morgan Stanley needs to do more research.

Potentially throwing off this prediction is the upcoming Tesla pickup truck. We should see an initial design this summer, which supposedly will be polarizing. No doubt it will still be quite popular, but Rivian and others could still given Tesla a run for its money, literally.