CNBC‘s Jim Cramer said Rivian needs to raise capital, tempering enthusiasm days after shares reached their highest level in nearly two years.
The company’s founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has rejected earlier this month suggestions that Rivian will exhaust its cash before scaling its R2 vehicle and reaching profitability.
“We have a pretty clear line of sight” to turning the corner financially, Scaringe said after the company’s Autonomy Day event in early December.
The company ended the third quarter with $7.7 billion in total liquidity, including nearly $7.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments — a position Scaringe said has Rivian “really well positioned” for the R2 launch.
The EV maker’s most recent quarterly results showed a $130 million loss in automotive operations, offset by $154 million from its Volkswagen joint venture and software and services revenue.
Net loss attributable to common stockholders widened to $1.17 billion (96 cents per share) from $1.1 billion ($1.08 per share) a year earlier.
Cramer’s Shifting View
“Rivian I feel was fatuous, they need to raise money as far as I’m concerned,” Cramer said Monday, Yahoo Finance reported.
The comments come as Rivian shares have surged 44% over the past 30 days and 64% year-to-date.
The stock closed 3.12% lower on Monday at $21.75.
The ‘Mad Money’ host has offered mixed assessments of Rivian throughout 2025.
In late September, when shares traded at $15.24, the CNBC host told investors to avoid the stock while criticizing spending on the company’s upcoming Georgia plant. Shares have since climbed nearly 44%.
In May, Cramer called Rivian a more compelling investment than rival Lucid Motors.
“Let’s put our money with something that is going to make a little more sense than Lucid,” Cramer said at the time.
Last Friday, Cramer recommended selling Lucid shares during his Lightning Round segment, even as the stock traded just above its all-time low.
R2 Progress
Scaringe shared footage Saturday from Rivian‘s Normal, Illinois, plant showing R2 bodies moving through automated assembly lines ahead of the model’s planned launch in the first half of 2026.
“The fit and finish is beautiful,” Scaringe said. “We can’t wait to get these to customers.”
Rivian will host an event in early 2026 to disclose R2 variants and pricing.
Software Rollout Resumes
Rivian resumed its rollout of software update 2025.46 on Monday, bringing expanded hands-free driving capabilities to second-generation vehicles among several other features, which include the digital key.
The Universal Hands-Free feature now operates on more than 3.5 million miles of roads in North America, allowing drivers to release the steering wheel for extended periods while the system monitors attention through Driver Attention Detection.
