“Biden Crony Capitalism's Last Gasp Goes to Rivian” By DAVID BLACKMON

“EV company Rivian - and major shareholders including Amazon - found that out just before Thanksgiving as the Biden Energy Department headed by Jennifer Granholm decided to gift it….”

Biden Crony Capitalism's Last Gasp Goes to Rivian

DAVID BLACKMON

NOV 29

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The editorial board at the Wall Street Journal writes today that it sure is good to have friends in high places, especially during a Democrat presidential administration. EV company Rivian - and major shareholders including Amazon - found that out just before Thanksgiving as the Biden Energy Department headed by Jennifer Granholm decided to gift it with a surreal capital infusion of $6 billion in the form of a “conditional” loan.

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This insane waste of taxpayer dollars goes to a company on the verge of bankruptcy that has recorded losses this year of more than $107,000 per unit sold, a financial fiasco rivaling even the astounding losses recorded by Ford Motor Company’s Model e EV division.

But it isn’t just a gift, per se, as the WSJ notes that Granholm and her apparatchiks have placed conditions on the funds:

DOE says the loan is a “conditional commitment” that hinges on Rivian meeting “technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions.” That means the Trump team may have the power to scrap it. GOP Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has promoted Rivian’s planned factory in his state, but the loan will mainly benefit the company’s investors, especially Amazon.

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We can only hope the incoming Trump team will make the rescission of this nutty move one of their top priorities. After all, if Rivian is truly deserving of such a massive infusion of cash, then let Amazon and Jeff Bezos - who is worth over $200 billion - assume the risk.

The funds supposedly would go mainly towards helping Rivian develop a huge manufacturing plant in Georgia, which would be capable of making more than 400,000 units per year. That would be on top of the company’s plant in Illinois, which is capable of an output of 150,000 per year.

This for a company that managed to sell about 37,000 cars thus far in 2024, most of them hugely discounted as the company tried to raise cash to stave off bankruptcy. Given the fact that US EV demand growth has stalled this year, what possible justification could there be for the government to help it build capacity to make 550,000 units annually?

This is literally insane. It is the definition of the word.

But the WSJ correctly notes that Granholm and her merry band of financial nitwits assume zero risk in shoving this grotesque example of IRA-funded abuse out the door:

The Rivian loan is an attempt to keep the company afloat at enormous taxpayer risk before the Trump Administration takes office. But if the loan goes bad in the next four years, don’t expect Biden officials to accept responsibility. They’ll blame the Trump crowd.

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Yes, of course that is the plan. Which is why incoming DOE Secretary Chris Wright should announce asap that he and his team will immediately conduct a review of this cynical move starting next January 20 and warn Rivian and its investors not to plan on ever getting a dime of it.

If Trump and his team accomplish nothing else related to energy policy over the coming four years, ending this kind of wasteful crony capitalism for good would be a real blessing for the nation. In that sense, Granholm may of just unwittingly (par for the course for her) handed Wright and Trump a huge PR gift.

That is all.