It is a complete mystery as to how Rivian has achieved a market value of $50 billion, they have yet to build a sell a single car. However, the company has secured an order to build 10,000 electric vans for Amazon, who happen to be co-investors. By 2030 the Rivian aims to be producing 100,000 electric cars per year, which is a fairly realistic target for a company that seems to permanently locked in start-up phase. As of now, Rivian has raised $8 billion from investors which also includes Ford. The company is already being valued at $27 billion and if the IPO goes ahead as planned later this year, Rivian could be valued at $50 billion.

Production of the R1T Pickup truck which is being built at a former Mitsubishi production facility is expected to start in June. So what is driving this valuation? Confidence is the key here, investors and speculators thrive off of confidence. And being backed by the likes of Amazon is also key to this valuation anomaly. In addition, electric cars are the hot new investment ticket driving this surge in Rivian’s IPO valuation. This is strange because Rivian is technically in debt.

The stock markets are more like a club for the super-rich who buy and sell shares off one another. And it is this exclusive club/group mentality that is driving Rivian’s value through the roof. Think of it like a private auction where wealthy elites outbid one another, paying the highest price for works of fine art simply because they can afford to.