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Tesla vs. Other EV Stocks: How to Compare Growth, Margins, and Valuation

Tesla’s scale does not make a direct stock comparison simple. Align periods, separate automotive from consolidated margins, examine cash needs, and calculate valuation from one date.
From TheFinanceBase Team8 min to read
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To compare Tesla with other EV stocks, line up the same reporting periods and separate vehicle economics from software, services, and energy. Start with deliveries and revenue, then compare automotive gross margin, operating profit or loss, cash flow, and funding needs. Only after that should you compare valuation—and only with market data from the same date. The figures available here show why: Tesla’s 2025 revenue fell even as its energy business grew; Rivian’s Q2 2026 consolidated gross profit came from software and services while automotive remained loss-making; and Lucid grew revenue but reported a deeply negative FY2025 gross margin.

These are illustrative U.S.-listed companies, not a complete global peer ranking. The reported periods also differ: Tesla’s latest source here gives Q2 2026 deliveries but not financial results, while Rivian and Lucid have Q2 financial updates. Do not treat the resulting snapshots as an apples-to-apples quarterly ranking.

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What the reported figures say—and what they do not

The table is a dated snapshot, not a same-period league table. Tesla’s FY2025 results can be compared with Lucid’s FY2025 results for broad annual context. Rivian’s figures below are for Q2 2026; its quarter cannot be directly ranked against a full year or against Tesla’s delivery-only Q2 release.

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Company and period Scale and growth Gross-profit picture Cash and liquidity
Tesla, FY2025 $94.83 billion revenue, $2.86 billion lower than 2024; about 1.66 million vehicles produced and 1.64 million delivered. 17.8% total automotive gross margin, down from 18.4% in FY2024. Energy generation and storage margin was 29.8%, up from 26.2%. Not stated in this comparison. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $3.79 billion, down $3.30 billion year over year.
Tesla, Q2 2026 delivery release 480,126 vehicle deliveries and 451,758 vehicles produced; 13.5 GWh of energy storage deployments. Quarterly financial margins are not stated in the delivery release. Quarterly financial results are not stated in the delivery release.
Rivian, Q2 2026 12,194 deliveries; $1.658 billion revenue, up 27% year over year. $179 million consolidated gross profit and 11% consolidated margin; automotive had a $36 million gross loss, while software and services generated $215 million gross profit and a 42% segment margin. Negative $849 million free cash flow for the quarter under Rivian’s stated definition. Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments were $5.310 billion at quarter end; reported total liquidity was $5.846 billion before the pro forma July follow-on proceeds described by the company.
Lucid, FY2025 15,841 vehicles delivered; $1.354 billion revenue, up 68% year over year. Gross margin was negative 92.8%. Not stated in the cited FY2025 figures.
Lucid, Q2 2026 4,774 vehicles produced and 3,953 delivered; $405 million revenue, up 56% year over year. Quarterly gross margin is not stated in the cited Q2 summary. $3.0 billion total liquidity. The company also described $1.4 billion in 2026 cash-flow improvement opportunities; this is a plan, not realized savings.

Sources: Tesla’s FY2025 Form 10-K and Q2 2026 production, deliveries and deployments release; Rivian’s Q2 2026 financial results; Lucid’s FY2025 Form 10-K and Q2 2026 results.

Tesla cautions that deliveries and storage deployments are only two performance measures and should not be relied on alone as indicators of quarterly results. A strict Q2 financial comparison needs Tesla’s Q2 2026 earnings update or Form 10-Q alongside Rivian’s and Lucid’s financial releases.

Compare growth without mistaking more vehicles for better economics

Use matched periods and more than one growth measure

For each company, compare year-over-year deliveries and revenue for the same quarter or fiscal year. For a longer view, use the same multi-year window. Delivery growth tells you about vehicle volume; revenue growth tells you how much sales increased in dollars. They can diverge when selling prices, product mix, incentives, or non-vehicle businesses change.

Rank #2

Keep the business mix visible. Tesla’s FY2025 automotive sales revenue fell 9% year over year while energy generation and storage revenue rose 27%. Total company revenue therefore describes a different combination of businesses than automotive revenue alone. The company’s 2025 automotive regulatory-credits revenue also fell $770 million, or 28%; Tesla says credit revenue varies with regulation, its own production and sales, and demand from other manufacturers. Those credits are part of reported results, but their variability matters when judging whether a revenue or profit trend is repeatable. See Tesla’s FY2025 Form 10-K.

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Check production as well as deliveries

Production and delivery counts together can help frame inventory and execution, but neither is a financial result. In Q2 2026, Tesla reported 451,758 vehicles produced and 480,126 delivered; Lucid reported 4,774 produced and 3,953 delivered. These figures cover different companies and business scales, and they do not establish profitability, pricing, or cash generated per vehicle.

Read margins at the right level

Do not compare automotive margin with consolidated margin

Gross margin is gross profit divided by the revenue included in that measure. Before comparing percentages, check what revenue and costs are included. Tesla’s FY2025 total automotive gross margin was 17.8%, while its energy generation and storage gross margin was 29.8%. Neither figure is the same as a consolidated company margin: energy is a separate business, and Tesla also reported 16.2% gross margin for automotive plus services and other.

Rivian illustrates why segment detail matters. In Q2 2026, its $179 million consolidated gross profit combined a $36 million automotive gross loss with $215 million software and services gross profit. The software and services result included $308 million of revenue attributable to the Volkswagen Group joint venture. Rivian also said the quarter included regulatory-credit revenue and an IEEPA tariff refund receivable. Those contributions affect how much of the headline consolidated result can be attributed to vehicle manufacturing and how durable the mix may be. See Rivian’s Q2 2026 results.

Pair gross margin with operating profit and net income

Gross profit does not pay all corporate costs. Compare GAAP operating income or loss and net income or loss after examining gross margin. Keep any adjusted or non-GAAP measure separate, and do not treat it as interchangeable with GAAP. A company can have positive gross profit and still lose money after research and development, selling, administrative, and other expenses.

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Tesla’s 2025 net income attributable to common stockholders was $3.79 billion, down $3.30 billion from 2024, despite its scale and positive automotive gross margin. Lucid’s FY2025 gross margin was negative 92.8%, so its revenue growth does not by itself demonstrate that vehicle sales have reached positive gross economics. The two measures answer different questions: growth shows the direction of sales, while margins and operating results show what remains after costs.

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Use cash flow and liquidity to assess funding risk

For a manufacturer investing in production capacity and new models, inspect operating cash flow, capital expenditures, free cash flow, cash and equivalents, debt, and total liquidity together. Check the company’s definition of free cash flow, whether the figure is quarterly or annual, and whether any capital raise or other financing occurred after the balance-sheet date. A cash balance alone does not show how quickly funds are being used.

Rivian reported Q2 2026 operating cash flow of negative $487 million and capital expenditures of negative $362 million, producing negative $849 million free cash flow under its stated definition. Its quarter-end cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments were $5.310 billion. The company reported $5.846 billion in total liquidity before the pro forma July follow-on proceeds described in its release. These are distinct measures and dates; do not add or substitute them without reconciling the release’s financing details.

Lucid reported $3.0 billion in total liquidity for Q2 2026 and identified $1.4 billion of cash-flow improvement opportunities for 2026. The latter is management’s forward plan, not a realized cash saving. For FY2025, Lucid said deliveries reached 15,841, revenue was $1.354 billion, and gross margin remained negative 92.8%. CEO Marc Winterhoff described the year as focused on execution and strategic adjustment, saying the company “nearly doubled production, gained market share, reduced unit costs, and strengthened our financial position.” That is management’s characterization; the reported financial measures are needed to assess it independently. Sources: Lucid’s Q2 2026 results and FY2025 results release.

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Compare valuation only with a dated, consistent calculation

Operating performance and stock valuation are separate questions. The operating results above do not establish what a share is worth today or whether one stock is cheaper than another. A valid comparison needs share prices and share counts from a common date, plus consistent treatment of cash, debt, and other material claims. No current valuation-multiple snapshot is established by the figures in this article.

  1. Choose one quote date and trading line. Record the closing price and currency for each listing on the same date. For an ADR or international listing, identify the exchange and share class and state the exchange-rate date used for any currency conversion.
  2. Calculate equity value consistently. Multiply the share price by a clearly identified diluted share count. State the count’s reporting date and basis; a basic share count and a diluted share count are not interchangeable.
  3. Calculate enterprise value from disclosed inputs. Reconcile equity value with debt, cash and cash equivalents, and other material claims. State the dates and definitions for those items rather than combining figures from mismatched periods without explanation.
  4. Choose a denominator that fits the company. EV/revenue can be a common comparison when earnings are negative, but it does not account for different margins or capital needs. Use EV/EBITDA or P/E only when the relevant denominator is positive and meaningful. FCF yield is useful only when free cash flow is positive and representative, not an exceptional quarter.
  5. Label the period and assumptions. Mark each multiple as trailing or forward. For forward estimates, identify the source and date. If earnings, EBITDA, or free cash flow is negative, label the conventional multiple “not meaningful” rather than presenting a negative multiple as an ordinary valuation measure.

Growth is not a valuation multiple: a faster-growing company is not automatically cheaper. Valuation also reflects expected future results, risk, capital requirements, and the price investors pay. Without a shared-date price, diluted share count, balance-sheet inputs, and an appropriate denominator, a ranking by “cheapness” would be unsupported.

Account for differences that make EV peers imperfect

  • Scale and product mix: Tesla operates across vehicles and energy; Rivian has automotive and software/services activities and is launching R2; Lucid is a smaller premium-vehicle manufacturer. Their segment mix and manufacturing ramps make headline revenue and margins different economic bundles.
  • Margin quality: A consolidated margin can reflect software, services, energy, credits, or one-off items as well as vehicle manufacturing. Read the segment figures and any stated special contributors before treating a margin as representative.
  • Execution and financing: New product launches, factory utilization, customer concentration, tariffs or credits, and dilution can affect future economics. Treat management targets and improvement plans as forecasts, not achieved results.
  • Peer coverage: These U.S.-listed examples are not a complete global EV universe. The figures here do not provide a comparable current BYD result, so they cannot support a full international ranking.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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