Jorden McVeagh, Editor

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rivian-recalling-nearly-vehicles-loose-fastener-concerns-rcna51319

On Oct. 7^th, 2022, Electric truck and SUV company Rivian Automotive announced that they would be recalling  all their vehicle lines as a result of a loose fastener. The recall will tighten said fastener in order for drivers to steer the vehicle without issue. Rivian, founded in 2009, will be recalling over 13,000 of their vehicles. The cause of the problem is a result of the front upper-control arm and steering knuckle not having enough torque. The company based out of Irvine, California, believes that it would only take a few minutes to make the fix and that all repairs should be completed within 30 days, assuming customers collaborate willingly. Rivian is trying to jump on the EV buzz and fix their problems now with the hopes the emerging consumers within the EV market will start to purchase their vehicles and grab a hold of the overall market share currently dominated by Tesla. The company has been public for little over a year and has already surpassed Ford and GM in market value making it the second most valuable automaker from the US behind Tesla. However, with the current economic conditions, the stock price does not reflect their prosperous first year being publicly traded as it has dropped 67% on the year thus far. Big news for the company came last month as they announced a partnership with Mercedes-Benz. The two companies will be building a factory in Europe that will produce electric vans for both companies to sell to the public. Even though Rivian has experienced success as of late, it has not come without its hardships. It started in March when the company announced price hikes on all vehicles which resulted in huge backlash from angry customers. Then in April, the company laid off over 800 workers after reporting a $1.6 billion net loss in the first quarter of 2022 alone.  Followed up by another poor second quarter where they posted a $1.7 billion net loss. Then as the old saying goes, “when it rains it pours.” Rivian has not been able to escape the global supply chain issues that have plagued the global economic environment. As a result, their factory stationed in Illinois can produce 150,000 vehicles per year on average. This year, the factory will be happy to produce 25,000.