Which Is a Better Investment, Rivian Automotive Inc or Tesla Inc Stock?

By Jenna Brashear
September 10, 2026
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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Automobiles industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla and Inc.

Rivian Automotive, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells category-defining electric vehicles. It operates through two segments, Automotive, and Software and Services. The company offers consumer vehicles, including a two-row, five-passenger pickup truck under the R1T brand; and a three-row, seven-passenger sport utility vehicle under the R1S name. It also provides software and services, such as vehicle electrical architecture and software development, as well as Autonomy+, remarketing, vehicle repair and maintenance services, software subscriptions, vehicle accessories, financing, insurance, and other services. In addition, the company designs, develops, and manufactures the Rivian Adventure Network Direct Current fast chargers; and FleetOS, a proprietary, end-to-end centralized fleet management subscription platform. Further, it offers Rivian Commercial Van platform for Electric Delivery Van with collaboration with Amazon.com, Inc. Rivian Automotive, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is based in Irvine, California.

Tesla, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Automotive; and Energy Generation and Storage. The company offers electric vehicles, as well as sells automotive regulatory credits; and non-warranty maintenance services and collision, automotive insurance services, as well as part sales and retail merchandise sale. It also provides sedans and sport utility vehicles through direct and used vehicle sales, a network of Tesla Superchargers, and in-app upgrades; purchase financing and leasing services; services for electric vehicles through its company-owned service locations and Tesla mobile service technicians; and vehicle limited warranties and extended service plans. In addition, the company engages in the design, manufacture, installation, sale, and leasing of solar energy generation and energy storage products, and related services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers and utilities through its website, stores, and galleries, as well as through a network of channel partners. Further, it provides services and repairs to its energy product customers, including under warranty and extended service plans; and various financing options to its residential customers; lithium-ion battery energy storage products, such as Powerwall and Megapack; energy generation products, including solar panels and solar roof; self-driving development and artificial intelligence software, vehicle control and infotainment software, and battery and powertrain. The company was formerly known as Tesla Motors, Inc. and changed its name to Tesla, Inc. in February 2017. Tesla, Inc. was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Latest Automobiles and Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla, Inc. Stock News

As of September 9, 2026, Rivian Automotive, Inc. had a $23.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Automobiles median of $6.5 million. Rivian Automotive, Inc.’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 14.4% in the past year.

Currently, Rivian Automotive, Inc. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Rivian Automotive, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $5.9 billion with a -55.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 27.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $-2.201 per share for the current fiscal year. Rivian Automotive, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

Currently, Tesla, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 340.6. Tesla, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $103.6 billion with a 3.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 25.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.769 per share for the current fiscal year. Tesla, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN F
Tesla, Inc. TSLA F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Rivian Automotive, Inc. has a Value Score of 14, which is Ultra Expensive. Tesla, Inc. has a Value Score of 2, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla and Inc. Growth Grades

Company Ticker Growth
Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN na
Tesla, Inc. TSLA C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Rivian Automotive, Inc. does not have a meaningful Growth Score. Tesla, Inc. has a Growth Score of 59, which is Average.

The Growth Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla or Inc. has a high enough Growth Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to sustainable growth.

Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN C
Tesla, Inc. TSLA D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Rivian Automotive, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 52, which is Neutral. Tesla, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 23, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla or Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions

Other Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla and Inc. Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Growth and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

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Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Rivian Automotive, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 14, Growth Score of and Estimate Revisions Score of 52.

Tesla, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 2, Growth Score of 59 and Estimate Revisions Score of 23.

Comparing Rivian Automotive, Inc., Tesla and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Learn More About A+ Investor

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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