By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
Electric car-maker Rivian’s stock price collapse is a clear example of why Illinois politicians have no business trying to pick industry winners and losers. And so are the warnings of potential brownouts in downstate Illinois.
Start with companies. Back in November 2021, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the “Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act,” a green energy bill that provided a series of subsidies and tax breaks to electric vehicle and parts manufacturers.
The law was quite clear in its intentions: “It is the intent of the General Assembly that Illinois should lead the nation in the production of electric vehicles. The General Assembly finds that, through investments in electric vehicle manufacturing, Illinois will be on the forefront of emerging technologies that are currently transforming the auto manufacturing industry.”
Lawmakers were counting on Illinois becoming an EV manufacturing powerhouse emerging around the Rivian plant in Normal, Illinois, as well as improved prospects for the Ford factory in South Chicago and the Stellantis plant near Rockford.
Rivian’s stock price grew rapidly, jumping 120% in the short time between the company going public (IPO price was $78) and the day before the bill was signed. On November 15, 2021, Rivian’s stock price hit a peak of $172.
It’s been all downhill from there. Today the carmaker’s stock price is down to just over $20, a drop of nearly 90 percent.
The automaker’s slide had a number of causes, starting with the fact that Rivian is a startup and all the risks that entails. There have been manufacturing issues, skyrocketing material costs and supply-chain problems. Not to mention the fact that the company lost out on even more potential subsidies when the federal Build Back Better bill died.
And then there’s all the bad news related to Ford. Last November, Rivian and Ford terminated a partnership to jointly develop a vehicle. More recently, Ford elected to dump 8 million shares of Rivian. On top of that, Ford manufactures the F-150 Lightning, a direct competitor to Rivian’s vehicles.
That’s not to say Rivian can’t one day be a market leader. Anything can happen. But the point is nobody knows – certainly not government bureaucrats. Pritzker and other Illinois lawmakers shouldn’t be gambling with taxpayer dollars based on an ideological whim.
Now to industries. Pritzker and his supermajorities have also bet the ranch on renewable energy, primarily wind and solar. Goodbye to all carbon-based energy – and even nuclear.
Under the green energy omnibus package the legislature passed last year, Illinois will have to have 50% of its electricity production from renewable sources by 2040 and 100% from clean energy sources by 2050. Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), called the bill “the most aggressive, most progressive climate bill in the nation.”
Reaching those goals will be exceptionally difficult and expensive. And according to the industry experts Wirepoints talked to, there’s no real plan for how to get there. In fact, Wirepoints FOIA’d the governor’s office for his plan to achieve “100% from clean energy sources by 2050.” We never got one.
The omnibus bill was simply the culmination of politicians’ long war on carbon-based energy – and coal in particular. Illinoisans may soon be dealing with the consequences of that war. Solar and wind have not kept pace with the capacity lost as fossil fuel plants have been shut down.
In fact, Melville Nickerson with NRG Energy warned during a recent Illinois House committee hearing of “the potential for rolling blackouts in central and southern Illinois” this summer.
Again, it’s hard to know how all this will play out. But once again, it’s Illinois bureaucrats making another bet, not only with taxpayer dollars, but with Illinoisans’ quality of life.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- The special interest smorgasbord inside Illinois lawmakers’ 800-page-plus green energy behemoth
- As the folly of Illinois’ new energy law becomes evident, a ray of hope breaks through
- Fresh CPD data: No, Chief Brown, carjackings are not down in Chicago. Not anymore.
- Chief Executive Magazine ranks Illinois third-worst state for doing business, yet Illinois politicians think businesses will move here because of…“equity!”
- Chicago car thefts spike sharply in 2022, up 100% along lakefront compared to 2019
- Close the revolving door for high-risk offenders in Cook County
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
CTEC or Clean Tech Economy Coalition is the focus group tasked with drawing up the plan. Of course it’s financed with Fed money and someone in Pritzker’s circle is probably going to make venture cap rates on anything that comes out of it.
https://polsky.uchicago.edu/2021/12/13/led-by-mhub-clean-tech-economy-coalition-secures-500k-from-the-build-back-better-regional-challenge/
https://eda.gov/arpa/build-back-better/finalists/mHUB.htm
Wonder if an EV whilst hooked to a charging station can be damaged during a ‘brownout’ like most electrical/ electronic things?
No the voltage regulator in a charger has a minimum drop out voltage at the input. If this differential is not met no voltage goes to the output. So if the line voltage is 220, and the regulars drop out is 20 volts, it can never output more than 200. So let’s say it is set to provide 190 regulated output, then the Com Ed line can vary between 210 and 240 and all is ok. If Com Ed browns out to 205, the regulator didn’t meet its 20 volt drop out to supply 190 and simply shuts off. It… Read more »
Rivian stock went up almost 18% today??
EV’s are coal powered vehicles.
Without subsidies at every level, manufacture, mining, charging… EV’s are a losing proposition. I recently had to replace my Toyota which had 438,000 miles on it. The salesman “assumed” I would be interested in an EV or hybrid. He was shocked I wanted no part of that. My measure of a car is if I can get from Lockport to our cabin in Minocqua WI on a single tank, in August, with the AC on all the way there. And with a stop at the grocery up there to stock the cabin for a week. I’m not gonna own a… Read more »
You’ve certaintly touched on my own major concerns about EV’s: the time to recharge them and the range anxiety when you get maybe 3/4 of the way to the advertised range of the vehicle in the summer and maybe 1/2 of the way there during zero-ish days of winter. We have two cars but don’t typically drive more than maybe 8000-or-so miles a year altogether. So, for that limited usage I’d rather pay the premium (so far) of not having either one of those issues on my mind. Also, I think its likely that there will be some form of… Read more »
Buying an EV is like joining a cult.
That’s my take on it, too. Its basically just another case of wanting to be belong to the current groovy-trend tribe for most urban dwellers at least.
There are use-cases where an EV can gain real non-subsidized entry to the market. One of those might be school buses. They run a fixed pre-determined route each day. They come back to a barn each night same time to be charged. They don’t do long hauls, mostly stop and go. But even such a perfect use case like this is still not viable without subsidies. And the cost of an EV bus is double a diesel or propane initially. A long way to go.
The politicians are putting the cart before the donkey. They’re not even ready when it comes to being prepared to handled the future. All they see is $$$$$ for them.
So when there’s not enough electricity to go around how’s the cost to operate an electric vehicle going to compare to a gas one????
Some Tesla battery replacement may cost over $23K depending what type of charger you use. This is why I would like to see hydrogen fuel cells in vehicles. Fuel up in about 5 minutes.
https://www.compare.com/electric-cars/guides/tesla-battery-replacement-cost
Rivian got in bed with Democrats and it won’t be long before Democrats kick them out of bed. Nobody in Illinois learns from the past. This deal wasn’t for Rivian to make money, it was for the state of Illinois and Unions to make money. That’s why I didn’t buy Rivian stock. OMG, they built a company in Illinois when everybody else is running out of Illinois as fast as they can! So due diligence isn’t important to companies moving to Illinois? Invest in those companies at your own peril!
Yes, putting a plant in Illinois is the first sign that a company has clueless and incompetent management!
Green Energy is another SCAM
Illinois sits on top of large deposits of coal, that is easier to mine since it’s close to the surface. Remember that during your ‘brownout’ (which can damage your home appliances and electronics) because you are paying for the Leftist Democrats follies. Hope you feel more virtuous now.
Yea JB,windmills worked real good in Texas a couple years ago when they had a freak snowstorm and below freezing temps for a couple of days.I know it never gets that cold here in Illinois though so we wont have to worry about the windmills freezing up.But if they do im sure JB has a plan….to fly his family to Florida….or he ll create some more state jobs to rappel from helicopters with giant ice scrapers to scrape the snow and ice off the windmill blades.
How do you spell Rivian? S-O-L-Y-N-D-R-A
Snake oil, plain and simple!
What a hoot. The state that’s been stumbling from one DCFS, unemployment and pension disaster to another for decades passes a law that says we’re going to remake our entire energy infrastructure in 15 years.
Yeah, right. And tomorrow morning, when I wake up, the sun’s going to rise in the west and reveal a dewey front yard full of gamboling pink unicorns and playful gnomes.
Meanwhile, we’ll all enjoy spending seventy five bucks to put three quarters of a tank of gas in our cars.
Oh, wait – Democrats have a plan for that too. Sorry, I forgot……
I just bought gas in Beloit at $4.09 a little off from I-90. Pump stopped at $125. I have a cargo van and bring extra gas cans. Then another $74. But have you noticed natural gas prices for May? Nicor is $1.11 per therm and Peoples Gas is .99 cent. Even though we won’t use heat gas dryers/water heater/stove will still use some. I spin my clothes in washer 2 or 3 times and then use less gas to dry. What is JB doing about high energy prices? He will suspend the 2 cent increase so now the savings will… Read more »
You’re driving that van with extra cans full of gas just to save a few bucks? Can you imagine the probable outcome if you have a crash on the way home? You might lose your life as well as the lives of other people. Even if not you could be sued for $$$$$$$ for driving that way. Yes, you saved some money, but you are taking huge risks to do so.
Thanks for the concern. It’s appreciated but I have no choice. I have a small landscape business and I carry gas cans with me all the time for my zero turn/wide cut walk behind mowers/weed wacker/backpack blower/etc. I am slowly transitioning to the 40 volt/18 volt hedge clippers/chain saw/sawzall. Besides I have a customer halfway to Beloit which is only 16 miles so I do multiple things on the trip so not to burn more gas than I could save. Sales tax on items is 5.5% in Beloit. I considered myself fortunate to be able to do this at age… Read more »
Okay, but as the law would look at it any storage for gasoline that’s being transported on public roads must meet certain pre-approved criteria. That’s not my “wheelhouse,” but if you don’t adhere to a fairly strict adherence to such rules you are almost asking for trouble both personally and in legal terms should accidents happen or any other incident happen where police might inspect your vehicle. I know you are greatly informed about vitamins and such. I’ve had a conersation or three with my doctors about that topic and while they don’t directly say not to take such things… Read more »
Natural gas through the walls, yes why because Pritzker and his Springfield minions are trying to shove there renewable energy plan down are throats, that’s why Pritzker and Springfield will not do a damn thing.
Thumbs up Freddy! I too buy 95% of gas for our vehicles in Wisconsin. Round trip to Woodmans in Beloit is about 15 mi. Average savings per gallon 40 – 90 cents per gal. Usually go to Janesville, get gas at the 40-90 cents per gal savings, have lunch and shopping at Sam’s Club making an afternoon of it. I also fill up a couple of 5 gallon cans every now and then. At a minimum $.40 per gallon one can save $2.00 per can. According to JB deferring the July raise will save consumers $2.00 after buying 100 gallons… Read more »
Accumulating your first $1M is always the hardest.
Or save the $75 bucks for 3/4 tank and just work remote, like are vastly under-compensated state afscme heroes. I’m sure working remote is an equitable possibility for everybody? I’m still not sure what is the status of jbs work remote indefinitely covid emergency order? Is it still in effect? But I believe its now real easy for state workers to claim work remote statues doing who knows what.
Rivian was completely dependent on dems passing bbb with all it’s proposed ev tax breaks. But bbb’s dead. Now, I have no clue why, but Georgia is promising Rivian billions in tax breaks to open plants in Georgia. Also, today rivian reported after closing less than disaster financials and they got a slight bump bit their stocks still in the toilet.
Hyundai is rumored to build an EV plant in Georgia.
https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/hyundai-eyes-georgia-new-us-ev-plant-report-says