What happened
Markets are poised to end the week on a positive note as confidence builds that a debt ceiling deal is within reach. And while that may contribute slightly to the rise in shares of Rivian (RIVN 6.73%) today, it's certainly not the only catalyst. Providing more fuel for the bulls' buying activity, the electric pickup manufacturer announced yesterday after the market closed that it has achieved a production milestone.
Rivian's stock is up 5.3% as of 2:55 p.m. ET, reversing slightly from its earlier climb of 6.1%.
So what
For the first time, Rivian has achieved production of the first dual-motor R1T electric pickup trucks. In addition, the vehicles are powered by the Enduro drive unit, which the company began producing in February. According to the company, the Enduro drive unit provides both "cost and range efficiencies" to customers.
Speaking on the company's success, Tim Fallon, vice president of manufacturing operations, said, "Introducing our dual-motor variants is a major milestone in ramping our facility to its full capacity, and they [employees] have done a great job working across so many functions to make this happen."
Rivian projects that customer deliveries of dual-motor R1 vehicles will begin in June.
Now what
It's no wonder that shares of Rivian are racing higher today on the positive news. The company's ramp-up in production hasn't gone as smoothly as it had hoped, so investors are cheering the fact that the company secured a win of sorts. In the coming quarters, EV investors considering a ride with Rivian will want to confirm that the company remains on track to achieve its 2023 production target of 50,000 vehicles.
