Which was the better investment since 2015, Apple or Tesla?

Tesla was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Tesla in 2015 would be worth $30,987 today, compared to $11,161 for Apple.

What would $1,000 in Apple vs Tesla be worth today?

$1,000 invested in Apple in 2015 would be worth $11,161 today (+1016.1%). The same $1,000 in Tesla would be worth $30,987 (+2998.7%).

How do Apple and Tesla compare to the S&P 500 since 2015?

The same $1,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 2015 would be worth $4,521 today (+352.1%). Apple returned $11,161 and Tesla returned $30,987 over the same period.

Apple vs Tesla: $1,000 invested since 2015

AAPL vs TSLA · Data through 2026-06-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2015 would be worth

Apple

$11,159

+1015.9%

TeslaWinner

$30,995

+2999.5%

The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $4,521(+352.1%)

Growth of $1,000

Apple vs. Tesla vs. S&P 500, 2015 to present

Year-by-year comparison

Apple vs. Tesla, 2015 to present

Year	Apple	Return	Tesla	Return	S&P 500
2015	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2016	$845	-15.5%	$939	-6.1%	$991
2017	$1,077	+27.4%	$1,237	+31.8%	$1,189
2018	$1,510	+40.2%	$1,740	+40.6%	$1,502
2019	$1,523	+0.9%	$1,508	-13.3%	$1,466
2020	$2,875	+88.8%	$3,195	+111.9%	$1,780
2021	$4,946	+72.0%	$19,487	+509.9%	$2,086
2022	$6,591	+33.3%	$23,004	+18.0%	$2,570
2023	$5,473	-17.0%	$12,762	-44.5%	$2,359
2024	$7,033	+28.5%	$13,798	+8.1%	$2,845
2025	$9,045	+28.6%	$29,808	+116.0%	$3,591
2026	$9,990	+10.4%	$31,710	+6.4%	$4,178

Which came out ahead

Starting in 2015, Tesla (TSLA) was the better of the two against Apple (AAPL). That $1,000 grew to $30,987 in TSLA versus $11,161 in AAPL as of 2026-06-01, roughly $19,826 more in the end.

In total-return terms the order is clear. Tesla returned +2998.7% against Apple at +1016.1%, a gap of about 1982.6 percentage points over the 11.6-year window. Compounded, that is about 34.5% a year for TSLA against 23.2% for AAPL.

Both holdings beat a plain S&P 500 fund over the same span, which would have turned that $1,000 into about $4,521 at roughly 13.9% a year. Volatility was not shared evenly. Tesla moved across a far wider band of yearly returns than Apple did. All figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.

This is a record of what already happened, not financial advice or a recommendation of either name. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Other start years

Apple vs Tesla from a different starting point

Since 2010 Since 2020 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Apple since 2015+1016.1%Tesla since 2015+2998.7%

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For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All calculations are based on split-adjusted closing prices from Yahoo Finance and do not account for dividends, taxes, or trading fees. See our methodology and full disclaimer.