BUZZ-Tesla, Rivian fall as Mizuho downgrades stocks on weak EV demand

** Shares of Tesla RIVN.O fall 1.6% to $168.06 and Rivian Automotive RIVN.O dip 1.6% to $10.63 in premarket trading

** Mizuho downgrades the stocks and U.S.-listed shares of Chinese EV maker Nio NIO.N to "Neutral" from "Buy", citing -term demand weakness for EVs and tightening liquidity

** U.S.-listed shares of NIO fall 0.8% to $4.85 before the bell

** "While Tesla remains a global leader with scale/profitability bar , moderating growth, China competition and higher inventory are challenges" - Mizuho

** Brokerage says while the lower-price R2 is a positive, it is slated for first half of 2026 and could cannibalize -term R1 sales

** Up to the last close, TSLA down ~31%, RIVN down ~54%, compared with a ~10% rise in the S&P 500 .SPX

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru)

((Akash.Sriram@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/hoodieonveshti;))