Several retail investors were looking forward to Rivian's first-quarter earnings, which are due after Tuesday's market hours.

Shares of Rivian Automotive, Inc. (RIVN) gained more than 9.5% last week, their best such performance since late February, accompanied by a significant rise in retail trader chatter.

The stock's rise also came alongside a broader rally in markets, with the benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices rising on the back of some encouraging tech earnings that eased investor worries about the impact of President Donald Trump's trade policies.

Until late Sunday, message volume on Stocktwits for the electric vehicle maker surged by nearly 27% over the past week, with sentiment turning slightly more 'bullish.'

Several retail investors were looking forward to Rivian's first-quarter earnings, which are due after Tuesday's market hours, with some sounding cautious.

One user thought the earnings would be bullish.

Another said a "massive short squeeze" is possible if Rivian gives an upbeat forecast, or the stock will "get pummeled hard" on a "weak or concerned forecast."

Some users also pointed to a Bloomberg report that Rivian stockpiled EV batteries from Asia ahead of potential Trump-era tariffs. 

Sources told Bloomberg that Rivian purchased lithium iron phosphate cells from China's Gotion High-Tech Co. late last year and recently worked with Samsung SDI to shift a significant inventory of battery cells from South Korea to the U.S.

Optimism was also picking up ahead of Monday's market opening as a regulatory filing from the weekend revealed that the Teacher Retirement System of Texas — one of the biggest U.S. pensions — initiated a position in Rivian while cutting its stake in Nvidia, Tesla, and Apple.

Wall Street expects Rivian's first-quarter loss per share to narrow to $0.77 from $1.24 a year earlier and revenue to shrink to $997.27 million from $1.2 billion.

Rivian's stock is up over 3.6% this year, while short interest has dropped from 14% to 12.7% since January.

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