Rivian and Lucid are still burning a lot of cash, but thankfully, they have rich backers

This week's earnings reports make two things clear about the viability of the electric vehicle future: EV-only companies are continuing to struggle and lose lots of money, and having wealthy investors who are willing to pour money into your money-losing operation is the difference between survival and bankruptcy.

Two of the big US-based EV-only companies - Rivian and Lucid - reported their second quarter earnings this week. Lo and behold, there's still a lot of red ink being spilled.

Lucid reported a net loss of $643 million for the second quarter, a slight improvement over the $764 million it lost in the second quarter of 2023. And Rivian said it lost a staggering $1.46 billion, $300 million worse than the same period last year.

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