Rivian stock price jumped sharply on Wednesday after the company unveiled details of its $5.8 billion joint venture with Volkswagen. It jumped to $12, up by 25.6% from its lowest level this month, valuing the EV company at over $10 billion.

Shares of Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) were still surging on Wednesday afternoon, after the company announced the closing of a deal with Volkswagen that could be worth well over $5 billion to the electric vehicle (EV) maker. As of 1:30 p.m. ET, Rivian's shares were up about 18.3% from Tuesday's closing price.

But their differences are what make Rivian shares a steal today. Rivian stock trades for less than 2 times sales, while Tesla shares trade at nearly 10 times sales. The market is right to be skeptical, as the electric car space is full of historical failures.

When initially announced, the deal that included direct investments into Rivian from Volkswagen and the creation of the JV was valued at a total of $5 billion. Upon closing the deal yesterday, the companies said that it now would be worth $5.

Amid all of its struggles in recent years, the biggest hope for Rivian has been its collaboration with Volkswagen Group, which has backed the EV maker's technology and is an investor. Yesterday, the two companies struck their biggest deal yet,

Rivian (RIVN) is losing over $1B per quarter, or $30K-$40K on each truck it sells, with current volumes not enough to sustain its spend rate. Unless it acted quickly, bankruptcy could have been in the cards,