Prominent Wall Street investor Ross Gerber has raised eyebrows by advocating for Tesla to sell its electric vehicle business to rival Rivian. Gerber asserts that the Tesla brand has deteriorated to the point where it now hinders the company”s sales rather than promoting them. In a statement posted on X, he expressed concern that “the value of Tesla”s brand has been reduced to a negative,” suggesting that a name change could boost sales significantly.
This perspective is echoed by other industry figures, including Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, who has criticized Elon Musk“s political engagements as detrimental to the Tesla brand image.
On the other hand, Rivian is gearing up to unveil the official pricing for its new R2 model on March 12. Recent sightings of the vehicle undergoing cold-weather testing in Fairbanks, Alaska, have included images of it charging at a Tesla Supercharger.
In contrast to Tesla“s struggles, Rivian recently celebrated an unexpected profit, with shares soaring by 27% following the announcement of better-than-anticipated financial results. For 2025, Rivian reported a gross profit of $144 million, a significant rebound from the net loss of $1.2 billion faced in 2024. Analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities referred to this turnaround as “a turnaround for the ages,” noting the historical frustrations experienced by investors.
The improved financial performance for Rivian has been attributed to increased revenues from software and services, elevated average selling prices, and reduced vehicle manufacturing costs. In 2025, Rivian delivered 42,247 vehicles, down from a record 51,579 the previous year, yet it still managed to reduce its net loss from automotive operations to $432 million.
Additionally, Amazon continues to expand its fleet of custom-built electric delivery vans, surpassing 30,000 units deployed across the U.S. and parts of Europe, as part of a broader commitment to have 100,000 on the roads by 2030. The delivery van has seen minimal updates since late 2021, with the most notable being the shift to a lithium iron phosphate battery pack in 2023.
In stark contrast, Tesla reported a second consecutive year of declining profits, with net income plummeting by 46% in 2025 to $3.8 billion. Recent incidents involving the Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature have also sparked criticism, including a viral video by Daniel Milligan, who claimed his Tesla attempted to drive him into a lake. This incident, along with others, has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to investigate the reliability of FSD technology.
Investor Gary Black from Future Fund LLC believes that Tesla stock could see a resurgence if the company announces the deployment of unsupervised Robotaxis in major cities.
