Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Rivian by 46.9% in the fourth quarter while slightly reducing its Tesla position for the third consecutive quarter, according to new SEC disclosures.
The bank reduced its Tesla holdings by 1% in the fourth quarter to 35,783,015 shares, marking the third consecutive quarter of trimming and the smallest stake since 2023.
Morgan Stanley held 36,146,709 shares at the end of Q3 2025, a 16.4% reduction from its June 30 stake.
In Q2, the firm had also cut its position by 4.7% from 45,379,105 shares in Q1.
Morgan Stanley’s Tesla stake peaked at 45.4 million shares at the end of Q4 2024, valued at approximately $4.9 billion at the time.
Since then, the bank has sold nearly 9.6 million shares — a 21.2% reduction over three quarters.
Despite the reductions, Tesla remains one of Morgan Stanley’s largest equity holdings.
The current position of 35.8 million shares was worth approximately $14.3 billion as of Friday’s close.
Morgan Stanley continued accumulating Tesla shares through 2023 and 2024, with the position growing from 22.1 million shares at the end of 2022 to 40.2 million by Q1 2024 — an 82% increase over that period.
Rivian
The New York-headquartered firm held 12,222,479 Rivian shares valued at $240.9 million as of December 31, up from 8,318,644 shares at the end of September.
The 3.9 million-share purchase reversed the bank’s 30.3% reduction in the prior quarter and comes after three consecutive quarters where the bank reduced its holdings in the Irvine-headquartered EV maker.
Morgan Stanley first opened a position in Rivian in December 2021, shortly after the company’s initial public offering, acquiring 3.6 million shares.
The bank steadily built its stake over the following year, reaching 6.3 million shares by Q3 2022.
The position fluctuated through 2023 and early 2024, ranging between 6.1 million and 9.7 million shares.
Morgan Stanley then made a significant bet on the EV maker in Q2 2024, boosting its holdings by 47.8% to 17.7 million shares — its largest position to date.
However, the bank subsequently reduced its stake for three consecutive quarters: trimming 12.6% in Q3 2024, cutting 29.9% in Q4 2024, and slashing another 30.3% in Q1 2025.
By June 2025, Morgan Stanley held just 11.9 million shares — down 33% from its peak.
The firm increased its position slightly by 3.9% in Q2 2025 to 18.4 million shares before the Q3 selloff that brought holdings down to 8.3 million shares — its lowest level since late 2022.
The Q4 reversal, bringing the stake back up to 12.2 million shares, suggests renewed confidence ahead of Rivian‘s R2 mid-size SUV launch scheduled for spring 2026.
The value of the position has climbed significantly since year-end as Rivian shares surged following better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and 2026 delivery guidance.
The stock closed at $17.73 on Friday, after soaring 26.6% due to better than expected Q4 2025 financial results and sales outlook for 2026.
Institutional Ownership
According to Nasdaq data on Monday, Rivian has 881 institutional holders collectively owning 705.1 million shares.
Amazon remains the largest shareholder and the company’s main backer with 158.4 million shares worth $2.81 billion, unchanged from the prior quarter.
Vanguard Group holds second place with 81.4 million shares valued at $1.44 billion after a slight 0.3% reduction.
BlackRock filed its Q4 update showing 50.4 million shares worth $894 million, a 1.6% decrease. Baillie Gifford, an early Rivian backer, trimmed its stake by 2.6% to 43.8 million shares valued at $776 million.
JPMorgan Chase emerged as a major buyer, boosting its holdings by 288% to 22.1 million shares worth $391 million.
Capital International Investors increased its stake by 13.2% to 20.8 million shares valued at $368 million.
Renaissance Technologies, the New York-based hedge fund, became one of Rivian’s largest institutional investors after purchasing 4 million shares in Q4 — a 32.4% increase — bringing its total to 16.4 million shares worth $290.7 million.
State Street Corp increased its holdings by 2% to 20.2 million shares worth $357 million.
Norges Bank, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, returned to Rivian after fully exiting in Q3, purchasing 11.2 million shares valued at $198 million — a 45.4% increase from its Q2 position.
UBS Group slashed its stake by 28.6% to 13.9 million shares worth $247 million.
Several institutions have yet to file their Q4 portfolio updates.
Based on Q3 positions as of September 30, Two Sigma Investments held 16.8 million shares, while Two Sigma Advisers held 14.3 million shares, and Bank of America held 13.2 million shares.
