Rivian announces 1B gross loss and 600M revenue [pdf]

How does this company — or any company, for that matter — continue operating in the long term with that much significant (i.e. 1B) gross loss?

"We generated negative gross profit of $(1,000) million for the fourth quarter 2022. For fiscal year 2022, we generated negative gross profit of $(3,123) million. Gross profit for the fourth quarter 2022 was impacted by a lower of cost or net realizable value (“LCNRV”) of inventory charge and losses on firm purchase commitments of $920 million as of December 31, 2022 compared to $95 million as of December 31, 2021. We expect to continue to incur these charges throughout 2023 but anticipate the total charge will decline as we drive down cost of goods sold per vehicle by lowering material, production, logistics, and other costs. We forecast reaching positive gross profit in 2024 and therefore expect that by the end of 2024, we will no longer have material LCNRV inventory charges and losses on firm purchase commitments associated with our Normal facility."

It'd be far worse to have scheduled bus routes and train tracks cutting across the vast wilderness than the occasional electric vehicle cruising through.

The financials may not look good right now, but the vehicles are extremely good. They’re already way out in front of the EV truck segment, and the big automakers have a huge gap to make up to reach the same level of quality. I wouldn’t be surprised if they manage to turn this around and become profitable.