Tesla (TSLA 2.97%) has had a rough 2025. But so has the entire electric vehicle (EV) industry -- in the U.S., at least. Business Insider reports that global EV sales for 2025 through Nov. 30 (excluding December) were up by 21%, but they were down 1% in the United States.
Between tariffs and the end of the $7,500 EV tax credit, most of the incentives that were tipping the scales for American consumers in favor of EVs are gone.
The downturn in the EV market has been rough on Tesla's rivals as well. Lucid Group (LCID 7.49%) has seen its share price tumble by 61% over the past 12 months, and while Rivian Automotive (RIVN 8.11%) is up 35% over the same time frame, its growth is likely unsustainable.
Despite the decline in EV sales in its largest market, the United States, Tesla is up just over 12% over the past 12 months.
Image source: Getty Images.
But unlike Rivian, Tesla has the strong fundamentals a company needs to weather a storm and sustain steady growth where its competitors do not. And Tesla still has a lot of gas in the tank -- or, I suppose, electrons in the battery -- while Rivian and Lucid are running on empty.
Don't get me wrong, I like Lucid and Rivian. I think their vehicles are nice to look at, and you can't argue with the performance numbers of the Lucid Air. But I wouldn't invest my money in either company. Tesla is another story, though.
A company in need of a spark
Let's look at Lucid first -- it's in a worse spot. In terms of sales, Lucid's third-quarter 2025 wasn't bad. Year-over-year production was up 116%, and deliveries up 47%. Revenue surged 68% year over year as well. But scratch a little harder, and the showroom-ready shine flakes off quickly.
NASDAQ: LCID
Key Data Points
Lucid started the year with $5 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and as of September, it had spent just $2 billion of that, reducing its reserves to $3 billion.
Although its revenue increased, the company still reported a net loss of $978.4 million for the quarter and $1.8 billion for the first nine months of the year. So, despite a 68% increase in revenue, it only reduced its loss for Q3 by 1.4%. That's not a great sign for Lucid moving forward.
Overcharged and running hot
Rivian had a better go of it in Q3 2025. It saw its revenues climb 78% to $1.55 billion, and its gross losses shrank $249 million to just $130 million.
NASDAQ: RIVN
Key Data Points
But as they say, it's not what you make that matters, it's what you keep. The company's net loss for the quarter was $1.16 billion, which is larger, if only slightly, than Q3 2024's loss of $1.1 billion.
In terms of cash, Rivian also showed improvement, lessening its net cash flow loss of $4 billion in the first nine months of 2024 to $2.82 billion for the first nine months of 2025. It also holds cash and cash equivalents of $5.29 billion as of Sept. 30, 2025, so it is sitting on quite a nice nest egg.
So, Rivian is improving and performing better than Lucid in some areas, while performing worse in others. This makes me think that its 35% growth in stock price over the last 12 months is on the speculative side. Rivian still carries a fair amount of risk, all things considered.
That brings us to Tesla, the EV company that transformed the electric vehicle from an oddity into one of the fastest-growing segments of the auto industry. Based on its fundamentals, it remains your best bet if you're bullish on American EVs.
The OG (original generator) is still going strong
Despite its rough go of things in 2025, Tesla has one thing that both Rivian and Lucid are pretty far away from: Profitability. For the first nine months of 2025, Tesla generated revenues of $69.9 billion and reported a net income of $2.99 billion.
NASDAQ: TSLA
Key Data Points
Both of those figures are down from the $71.9 billion revenue and $5 billion net income it recorded in 2024. But Q3 showed some promising signs for a potential recovery for Tesla next year.
Q3 2025 saw Tesla's revenue hit $28 billion, up 11% from the $25.1 billion it recorded in Q3 2024. The company also grew its cash reserves over 2025, from $16.1 billion as of Dec. 21, 2024 to $18.2 billion as of Sept. 30, 2025.
So, despite a rough year, Tesla's fundamentals remain strong and its Q3 revenue showing an uptick in vehicle sales is a good sign of things to come. If you're looking for a bet on American EVs, accept no substitutes and take a look at the electrifying original.
