Production of electric Rivian R1T pickup trucks on April 11, 2022 at the company’s plant in Normal, Ill.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
Shares of Rivian Automotive plummeted in premarket trading Monday following a CNBC report that Ford Motor is selling 8 million shares of the electric vehicle start-up.
Rivian’s stock was down 19% in extended trading to below $24 a share, poised to add to significant losses for the year. Shares of the automaker closed Friday below $30 for the first time since the company went public through its blockbuster IPO in November. The stock has fallen 72% this year.
A stock lockup period for company insiders and early investors such as Ford expired Sunday.
CNBC’s David Faber reported Saturday that Ford would sell 8 million of its Rivian shares through Goldman Sachs. The Detroit automaker owned 102 million shares of Rivian. A Ford spokesman declined to comment Monday morning.
Faber on Monday called the sale “done,” saying shares are already being distributed.
JPMorgan Chase also plans to sell a Rivian share block of between 13 million and 15 million for an unknown seller, people familiar with the plans told Faber. Both blocks of stocks are priced at $26.90 a share.
Rivian said in March it expected to produce 25,000 electric trucks and SUVs this year, as the start-up battles through supply chain constraints and internal production snags. That would be just half of the vehicle production it forecast to investors last year as part of its IPO roadshow.
The company is scheduled to report its first-quarter results after market close Wednesday.
