What happened
Yesterday, whether he liked it or not, the U.S. president made history. For the first time since taking office, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, President Joe Biden uttered the word Tesla in public.
Speaking from the White House, the president hailed the more than $200 billion in electric car investments being made at "iconic companies like GM and Ford building out new electric vehicle production to Tesla, our nation's largest electric vehicle manufacturer." But Tesla wasn't the only pure-play electric-vehicle company Biden mentioned.
He also mentioned Rivian Automotive (RIVN -2.94%) -- and now Rivian stock is up 6.1% as of noon ET.
Image source: Rivian.
So what
Is it really such a big deal, though, having your EV stock's name mentioned publicly by the president? Apparently so, judging from the stock price.
It certainly doesn't hurt that Biden showered a bit of praise on the maker of electric pickup trucks, calling Rivian one of America's "innovative younger companies." Nor did the context of the remarks hurt, as the president proceeded to predict that "we're seeing the beginnings of an American manufacturing comeback" -- not least in the automotive industry -- and that "countries around the world that are ... going to buy American-made electric cars."
Now what
The president wasn't just whistling Dixie, either. Already, Rivian has racked up some 71,000 preorders for its American-made electric trucks and SUVs, and another 100,000-vehicle order from Amazon for electric delivery vans.
With strong demand from American consumers, and the apparent strong backing of the American president to boot, the future looks bright for Rivian. Now all the company has to do is prove it can sell those trucks at a profit.
