Investors shower love on Rivian and Lucid

Here are two numbers that say a lot about how investors view two key electric vehicle startups: $232,000 and $89 billion.

Driving the news: That’s luxury EV startup Lucid Motors Q3 revenue and its market capitalization at yesterday’s close of trading.

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• Lucid, which just began deliveries, has zoomed past Ford’s market cap and matched General Motors.

• Meanwhile, EV startup Rivian, which just went public last week, has a stunning market cap of roughly $150 billion after yesterday’s latest gains.

Why it matters: The eye-popping valuations signal how investors see the potential for huge EV market growth, and how those two startups may be well-poised.

• Lucid’s team includes several Tesla veterans, and its Lucid Air just won Motor Trend’s car of the year.

• The Amazon- and Ford-backed Rivian, which just recently began deliveries of its pickup, also has a foothold in the growing market for electric delivery vehicles thanks to its large contract with Amazon.

Yes, but: “Unfortunately, a company like Tesla doesn’t come along very often and the valuations placed on Rivian and Lucid are questionable, particularly in comparison to the existing automotive companies,” Edmunds analyst Jessica Caldwell tells the Financial Times.

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