[Form 4] Rivian Automotive, Inc. Insider Trading Activity
Claire McDonough, Chief Financial Officer of Rivian Automotive (RIVN), reported two transactions in August 2025. On 08/15/2025 the company withheld 28,183 shares to satisfy tax withholding from the vesting of 59,425 Restricted Stock Units. The withholding used the closing price of $12.06 on August 14, 2025. On 08/18/2025 the reporting person sold 7,247 shares at $12.28 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on August 16, 2024. Following these transactions the reporting person beneficially owned 789,445 shares of Class A common stock. The filing was signed by an attorney-in-fact on 08/19/2025.
- Use of Rule 10b5-1 plan for the sale on 08/18/2025 provides documentation of a prearranged trading program
- Tax withholding via share withholding on RSU vesting is an administrative, non-cash method to satisfy tax obligations
- Reduction in reported beneficial ownership to 789,445 Class A shares after withholding and sale
- Insider sale of 7,247 shares at $12.28 reduces direct holdings and could be interpreted by some investors as liquidity-taking
Insights
TL;DR: Transactions are routine tax withholding and a prearranged 10b5-1 sale, suggesting no ad hoc insider trading.
The withholding of 28,183 shares to cover taxes on 59,425 vested RSUs is a standard administrative action following equity vesting and does not change economic exposure aside from share count reduction. The subsequent sale of 7,247 shares occurred under a previously adopted Rule 10b5-1 plan, which provides an affirmative defense against claims of trading on material nonpublic information when plan conditions are met. Documentation of the plan adoption date is included in issuer filings. For governance review, these actions should be logged against the insider trading policy and 10b5-1 plan terms.
TL;DR: Small-scale disposition and withholding at low double-digit prices; immaterial to company capitalization but relevant to insider ownership tracking.
The sale of 7,247 shares at $12.28 and withholding of 28,183 shares at a $12.06 reference price reduce the reporting person's direct holdings to 789,445 Class A shares. While the absolute values are modest relative to public float, the use of a 10b5-1 plan is typical for planned liquidity. Investors may note the updated beneficial ownership figure when modeling insider alignment, but these transactions do not by themselves indicate material change to company capital structure or operations.