Do markets have another Nicola on their hands?

Moments ago Rivian stock tumbled after a report in the Information reported that the Amazon executive overseeing the development of Rivian electric delivery vans said the company is on schedule to put 10,000 of the vans on the road next year, following months of testing in 15 cities. But according to one of the drivers involved with testing the vans, "their range is more limited than what Rivian disclosed ahead of its blockbuster initial public offering earlier this month."

While the Rivian IPO filing said the Amazon vans would have a range of between 120 miles and 150 miles depending on their size, one driver involved in testing the vans said the range could be much less, depending on the weather, the Information reported. The driver who spoke to The Information said the battery drained about 40% faster than normal if the van's heating or cooling is on.

Amazon’s director of Global Fleets and Products, Ross Rachey, admitted that air conditioning and heating could drain the battery quickly in the vehicles being tested. Still, he added that prototype vans didn’t have the insulation the vans will have when Rivian is manufacturing them although it's a little difficult to see how "insulation" could eliminate the need for a climate system.

“When we are in production, heating or cooling won’t decrease the range by 40%,” Rachey said, according to the Information. Which, of course, he would say.

This does beg the question of why, as in the case of Nicola, nobody actually did diligence before pre-purchasing thousands of trucks.

While there is no indication that there is any fraud (at least not yet), should this report prove accurate and if indeed Rivian is found to have aggressively over-represented the capabilities of its trucks, the market's verdict - which still vividly remembers what happens when EV makers lie to shareholders and customers - will be swift and merciless and we are getting a hint of it just now with RIVN stock tumbling following the report.

And AMZN is sinking too...