EV Startups Teeter on the Brink as Consumers Sour on Industry

A slowdown in the demand for electric cars has sparked off such a brutal price war that even industry behemoth Tesla Inc. is struggling to cope. But for the newer entrants in the race, it is fast turning out to be a battle for survival.

This week’s slew of lackluster quarterly results from once promising electric-vehicle startups made clear what analysts and investors have worried about for a while now: That rapidly dropping prices on EVs will hit the smaller, unprofitable carmakers the hardest. Two of the largest and most prominent in the group — Rivian Automotive Inc. and Lucid ...