One thing Rivian (RIVN 6.10%) investors -- and likely investors of the broader electric vehicle (EV) industry -- know is that any complications, slowdowns, or bottlenecks in production are met with immense pessimism from Wall Street analysts.

That's what happened early in 2023 to Rivian as it faced production bottlenecks, but is this latest sign from rival Ford Motor Company (F -1.92%) a warning that demand is softening? Here's why it could be a big deal.

Gone in a flash

Many headlines touted Ford's F-150 Lightning Flash, which was intended to fill a gap in price offerings for its electric truck lineup, but one thing Ford management forgot to mention was that they're significantly dialing back production of the F-150 Lightning overall.

Ford has reached out to suppliers and notified many to prepare for F-150 Lightning volume around 1,600 units a week at its Rogue Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, according to Automotive News.

To put that figure in context, remember that Ford was aiming for an annual goal of about 150,000, or about double per week what it recently told suppliers. The pullback in production was due to "changing market demand," or something investors might call softening demand.

Harsh reality

It's a sudden change in strategy, considering Ford went as far as adding a third shift late in 2022 as part of its goal of hitting an annual run rate of 150,000 Lightning trucks. It wasn't a simple process either, as the plant was idled for six weeks earlier this year to enlarge the facility by more than 70%.

It's a harsh reality, but it's fairly clear: "The narrative has taken over that EVs aren't growing; they're growing," CFO John Lawler said during Ford's third-quarter earnings report. "It's just growing at a slower pace than the industry and, quite frankly, we expected."

Ford's recent move to cut Lightning production is just one component of a broader pullback. Ford has delayed roughly $12 billion in EV investments, including a reduction of Mustang Mach-E production, and a delayed opening of one battery plant.

Is this a red flag for Rivian?

While Ford cutting its EV truck's production isn't a great sign, that doesn't confirm that Rivian is seeing the same softening demand for its truck, nor does it confirm Rivian doesn't have a backlog of R1Ts to roll off the production line.

However, there is data from Experian that suggests it could be the case. From January through September, Rivian's R1T had 8,679 registrations, down 0.7% compared to the same period in 2022. On the bright side, while the R1T registrations were flat, the company's R1S crossover had 16,439 registrations over the same time period, compared to a paltry figure of only 389 the prior year.

It's also possible that Ford management got caught up and overhyped demand and production of the Lightning too soon, because its sales are still rising. Just recently in November, Ford sold nearly 4,400 Lightning trucks, which was a monthly record. Its full-year sales through November are up 54%, compared to the prior year.

In other words, there are many possible reasons for Ford cutting production of the Lightning, and not all those reasons confirm that Rivian will face similar slowdowns at a time when investors are hoping for production to accelerate more rapidly. It is worth keeping an eye on, however, especially as Rivian is aiming to be gross profit positive next year, and a large component of that is having healthy demand matching accelerating production.