Welcome back to The Electric! 

The last year and a half has been a maelstrom in the automotive industry as the Tesla juggernaut finally persuaded mainstream carmakers that they had to go electric, igniting a boom of electric vehicle and battery startups. Today, I assess 16 companies that went public during this period. 

Over the last 18 months or so, more than three dozen mobility companies have gone public in the U.S., raising a collective $32 billion in a mania around the electrification of motor vehicles. They ranged from EV manufacturers hoping to compete with Tesla, to battery makers seeking to enable cheaper EVs with greater range, to developers of battery-charging networks. These mostly young companies, now swimming in cash to fund their commercial scale-up, will be among the core winners and losers of the unfolding EV and battery race. 

To make sense of the field, I culled and rated a select group of 16 companies that have gone public since the start of the pandemic or are planning to list their shares soon. I rated six of the companies as good long-term bets, six as too risky and four as neutral—meaning it’s too early to make a call or the stock price may be too rich, relative to what they’ve produced. We’re looking at you, Rivian. (Scroll down for the company-by-company breakdown.)