Rivian Over Tesla? Morgan Stanley’s Latest EV Playbook Shows A Shift In Big Money

The repositioning mirrors market performance trends, with Rivian outperforming both Tesla and Nio over the past 12 months.

• Nio and Tesla saw continued pullbacks, with Morgan Stanley cutting its Nio stake by about 6% after a volatile rebuild tied to new SUV launches.
• Morgan trimmed Tesla for a third straight quarter, even as Tesla remains one of the bank’s largest holdings at over $14 billion in value.
• Rivian emerged as the standout, with Morgan Stanley boosting its stake by nearly 47% ahead of the R2 launch this year.

Morgan Stanley is reshuffling its EV exposure, paring back long-running positions in Tesla and Nio while sharply increasing its stake in Rivian Automotive.

The bank modestly reduced its holding in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter, ending two straight quarters of accumulation. The firm finished the year with about 15.3 million shares of Nio Inc., down roughly 6% from the prior quarter, a stake now valued near $75 million.

Morgan Stanley Eases Nio Position After 2025 Rally

The trim follows a turbulent stretch for the position. Morgan Stanley’s Nio stake peaked in early 2024 before being aggressively cut mid-year, then rebuilt in the third quarter of 2025 as the stock rallied on renewed momentum from new SUV launches, including the third-generation ES8 flagship model, which crossed 40,000 deliveries in roughly 100 days.

Tesla Cut Again, But Still A Core Holding

Morgan Stanley also continued to scale back its Tesla exposure, trimming the position for a third consecutive quarter. The firm ended Q4 with roughly 35.8 million shares, its smallest Tesla holding since 2023.

That said, Tesla remains one of the bank’s largest equity positions, with a value of more than $14 billion. The recent selling comes after a multi-year buildup that saw Morgan Stanley’s Tesla stake nearly double between 2022 and early 2024, before reversing course over the past three quarters.

Morgan Stanley Rebuilds Rivian Stake Ahead Of R2 Launch

The most notable shift came in Rivian. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake by nearly 47% in Q4, lifting holdings to about 12.2 million shares and reversing three consecutive quarters of selling.

The move follows a deep drawdown earlier in 2025 that had taken the position to its lowest level in years. The renewed buying points to rising confidence ahead of Rivian’s planned R2 mid-size SUV launch in spring 2026, as well as improving fundamentals.

Rivian shares have rallied sharply since year-end, jumping after the company delivered stronger-than-expected Q4 results and issued upbeat delivery guidance for 2026. 

Institutions Crowd Back Into Rivian

Morgan Stanley’s pivot aligns with broader institutional flows. While Amazon, Vanguard, and BlackRock remain Rivian’s largest holders with relatively stable positions, several firms increased exposure in Q4, including JPMorgan, Capital International Investors, Renaissance Technologies, State Street, and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund.

Meanwhile, UBS cut its stake by 29% to 13.9 million shares worth $247 million.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward Nio was ‘bearish’ amid ‘normal’ message volume, while Tesla drew ‘bullish’ sentiment despite ‘low’ activity. Rivian stood out, with retail sentiment turning ‘extremely bullish’ alongside ‘extremely high’ message volume.

Over the past 12 months, Nio’s U.S.-listed shares are up about 16%, Tesla has gained roughly 17%, while Rivian has risen around 33%, outperforming both peers over the period.

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