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Freedom251 › Blog › EV stocks

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

By Freedom251 Team · · 7 min read

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Compare Tesla with other EV stocks in three steps: align reporting periods, separate vehicle economics from company-wide results, and only then compare valuation using dated market data. The latest figures here show Tesla’s 2025 revenue and net income declined even as energy grew; Rivian’s Q2 2026 consolidated gross profit depended on software and services while automotive remained gross-loss-making; and Lucid grew revenue but reported a deeply negative 2025 gross margin. Those operating facts do not establish which stock is cheaper today.

Which EV companies are being compared?

Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid make a useful illustrative comparison, not a complete ranking of EV makers. Tesla combines consumer vehicles with energy generation and storage. Rivian reports automotive and software-and-services operations and is launching its R2 vehicle. Lucid is a smaller premium-EV manufacturer that remains loss-making. Scale, product mix, segment contributions, manufacturing ramps, and funding needs differ, so a single headline growth or margin figure can mislead.

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The figures below are company-reported and in U.S. dollars unless noted. They cover FY2025 and Q2 2026, but not every company has comparable financial results for both periods in the cited releases. In particular, Tesla’s cited Q2 release reports deliveries and storage deployments, not the financial results needed for a like-for-like quarterly margin comparison.

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How should you compare growth?

Start with both vehicle deliveries and revenue, using the same company-reported period and year-over-year basis. Deliveries indicate units handed to customers; revenue shows the dollars recognized across the company’s businesses. They can move differently as prices, vehicle mix, incentives, and non-vehicle segments change.

Company and period Deliveries Revenue What the figures show
Tesla, FY2025 About 1.64 million consumer vehicles $94.83 billion, down $2.86 billion from 2024 Revenue contracted despite substantial delivery volume. Automotive sales revenue fell 9% year over year, while energy generation and storage revenue rose 27%. Tesla FY2025 Form 10-K, filed 2026
Rivian, Q2 2026 12,194 $1.658 billion, up 27% year over year Quarterly delivery and revenue growth should not be compared directly with another company’s annual totals. Rivian Q2 2026 results, July 30, 2026
Lucid, FY2025 15,841 $1,353.8 million, up 68% year over year Fast revenue growth from a smaller base does not by itself demonstrate profitable growth. Lucid FY2025 Form 10-K, filed 2026

For Tesla, production was about 1.66 million vehicles against about 1.64 million deliveries in FY2025. For Lucid, Q2 2026 production was 4,774 vehicles against 3,953 deliveries. Production and deliveries are different measures: a gap can reflect inventory movement, not just customer demand. Rivian’s cited Q2 release reports deliveries but the figures summarized here do not establish a comparable production-and-delivery balance for all three companies.

Use Tesla’s Q2 delivery update cautiously

Tesla reported 480,126 vehicle deliveries, 451,758 vehicles produced, and 13.5 GWh of storage deployments for Q2 2026. The company explicitly cautioned that deliveries and storage deployments are only two of multiple performance measures and should not alone be relied on as indicators of quarterly results. These figures are not a substitute for Tesla’s quarterly revenue, gross margin, or cash-flow reporting. Tesla Q2 2026 production, deliveries and deployments, July 2, 2026

Are the margin figures measuring the same thing?

No. Automotive gross margin describes vehicle-related economics under the company’s reporting definitions. Consolidated gross margin includes other business lines and can be lifted or depressed by their contribution. Compare segment margins where available, then check consolidated gross profit and operating results.

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Rank #2
Company and period Automotive or vehicle margin Other segment / consolidated context
Tesla, FY2025 17.8% total automotive gross margin, down from 18.4% in FY2024 Automotive plus services and other gross margin was 16.2%. Energy generation and storage gross margin was 29.8%, up from 26.2% in FY2024; that is an energy margin, not an automotive margin. Tesla FY2025 Form 10-K
Rivian, Q2 2026 Automotive gross loss of $36 million Consolidated gross profit was $179 million, an 11% margin. Software and services generated $215 million gross profit at a 42% segment margin. The quarter’s software-and-services gross profit included $308 million of revenue attributable to the Volkswagen Group joint venture. Rivian also noted regulatory-credit revenue and an IEEPA tariff refund receivable in its results. Rivian Q2 2026 results
Lucid, FY2025 Gross margin was negative 92.8% The cited FY2025 figures do not state a comparable separate segment margin. Lucid FY2025 Form 10-K

These margin figures are not a same-period contest: Tesla and Lucid figures are FY2025; Rivian’s are Q2 2026. Within each company, however, the segment split matters. Rivian’s positive consolidated gross profit does not mean its automotive business was gross-profitable in that quarter. Tesla’s energy margin should not be used as a proxy for vehicle margin.

Check what drove the reported margin

For Tesla, automotive regulatory-credit revenue fell $770 million, or 28%, year over year in FY2025. Tesla says such credit revenue fluctuates with regulation, production, sales, and demand from other manufacturers, so it is worth separating from recurring vehicle sales when considering margin quality. Tesla FY2025 Form 10-K

For Rivian, consider the Volkswagen Group joint-venture contribution alongside the software-and-services result, as well as the company’s disclosure about regulatory credits and a tariff refund receivable. The reported quarter is a real result, but those contributors help explain why its consolidated and automotive gross-profit figures diverged. Rivian Q2 2026 results

What do profitability and cash flow add?

Gross profit is only an early checkpoint. Compare operating income or loss and net income or loss to see whether gross profit covers research, selling, administrative, and other operating costs. Keep GAAP results distinct from any adjusted measure, and do not treat a single quarter’s cash flow as a reliable annual run rate without explaining the seasonality or timing involved.

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Tesla reported FY2025 net income attributable to common stockholders of $3.79 billion, down $3.30 billion year over year. That decline is important alongside the revenue contraction and margin changes; delivery scale alone does not describe the year’s financial performance. Tesla FY2025 Form 10-K

Rivian reported Q2 2026 operating cash flow of negative $487 million and capital expenditures of negative $362 million. Under the company’s stated definition, free cash flow was negative $849 million. It ended the quarter with $5.310 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments; total liquidity was $5.846 billion before the pro forma July follow-on proceeds described in the release. Cash on hand needs to be read with the cash burn and any financing that followed. Rivian Q2 2026 results

Lucid’s FY2025 revenue grew 68% to $1.3538 billion, but its gross margin was negative 92.8%, so growth did not yet translate into positive gross economics. In Q2 2026, Lucid reported $405 million revenue, up 56%, and $3.0 billion total liquidity. Its stated $1.4 billion of 2026 cash-flow improvement opportunities was a forward-looking plan, not savings already realized. Lucid FY2025 Form 10-K Lucid Q2 2026 results, August 4, 2026

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How should EV stock valuation be compared?

The operating figures do not establish what any stock is worth today. A defensible relative valuation needs inputs measured on a common date: equity market capitalization, diluted share count, debt, cash and equivalents, and a consistent earnings or revenue period. The figures in the cited operating releases do not provide a same-date share-price and valuation-multiple snapshot, so they cannot support a claim that Tesla, Rivian, or Lucid is currently the cheapest or most expensive.

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  1. Choose a quote date and trading line. Use share prices from the same date and specify the listing, currency, and share class. For international listings or ADRs, state the exchange-rate date and clarify which security is being compared.
  2. Calculate equity value consistently. Multiply the relevant share price by a diluted share count, stating the share-count source and date. Do not silently mix basic shares for one company with diluted shares for another.
  3. Calculate enterprise value. Start with equity value, add debt and other material claims, and subtract cash and equivalents using balance-sheet figures with their reporting dates. Explain any material adjustments rather than treating enterprise value as interchangeable with market capitalization.
  4. Choose a denominator that fits the company. EV/revenue can be used to compare companies that are loss-making, but it does not show whether revenue earns an adequate margin. EV/EBITDA or price/earnings is more informative only when the denominator is positive and meaningful. Free-cash-flow yield is useful when free cash flow is positive and representative.
  5. Label time basis and limitations. Distinguish trailing results from forward estimates; name the estimate 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 a normal cheapness signal.

Then interpret the multiple alongside the operating evidence: revenue growth, vehicle gross margin, consolidated profitability, cash burn, liquidity, execution risk, and any dependence on credits or joint-venture contributions. Faster growth can justify a different valuation only if the underlying economics and financing path support it; growth alone does not prove a lower valuation.

What this comparison can and cannot tell you

It can show why headline comparisons are incomplete: Tesla’s FY2025 scale coexisted with lower revenue and net income, Rivian’s Q2 consolidated gross profit included a large software-and-services contribution while its automotive segment recorded a loss, and Lucid’s rapid revenue growth came with a deeply negative gross margin. It cannot rank all EV makers, supply a same-quarter financial comparison for Tesla and its peers from the cited Tesla delivery update, or determine current relative stock value without dated market and share-count inputs.

The cited evidence covers Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid; it does not establish BYD’s latest official results or represent the full international EV universe. For Lucid’s management perspective, Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said in the company’s February 24, 2026 FY2025 results release: “2025 was all about execution and strategy adjustment to set Lucid up for long-term success. Against a challenging macro backdrop, we nearly doubled production, gained market share, reduced unit costs, and strengthened our financial position.” That is management’s characterization; assess it alongside Lucid’s reported deliveries, revenue, and negative gross margin. Lucid FY2025 results release, February 24, 2026

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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