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

Nvidia was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Nvidia in 2015 would be worth $434,344 today, compared to $30,987 for Tesla.

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

$1,000 invested in Nvidia in 2015 would be worth $434,344 today (+43334.4%). The same $1,000 in Tesla would be worth $30,987 (+2998.7%).

How do Nvidia 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%). Nvidia returned $434,344 and Tesla returned $30,987 over the same period.

Nvidia vs Tesla: $1,000 invested since 2015

NVDA vs TSLA · Data through 2026-06-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2015 would be worth

NvidiaWinner

$434,478

+43347.8%

Tesla

$30,995

+2999.5%

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

Growth of $1,000

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

Year-by-year comparison

Nvidia vs. Tesla, 2015 to present

Year	Nvidia	Return	Tesla	Return	S&P 500
2015	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2016	$1,551	+55.1%	$939	-6.1%	$991
2017	$5,836	+276.3%	$1,237	+31.8%	$1,189
2018	$13,191	+126.0%	$1,740	+40.6%	$1,502
2019	$7,736	-41.4%	$1,508	-13.3%	$1,466
2020	$12,773	+65.1%	$3,195	+111.9%	$1,780
2021	$28,117	+120.1%	$19,487	+509.9%	$2,086
2022	$53,047	+88.7%	$23,004	+18.0%	$2,570
2023	$42,365	-20.1%	$12,762	-44.5%	$2,359
2024	$133,478	+215.1%	$13,798	+8.1%	$2,845
2025	$260,556	+95.2%	$29,808	+116.0%	$3,591
2026	$414,872	+59.2%	$31,710	+6.4%	$4,178

Which came out ahead

From a $1,000 stake at the start of 2015, Nvidia (NVDA) came out ahead of Tesla (TSLA). That $1,000 grew to $434,344 in NVDA versus $30,987 in TSLA as of 2026-06-01, about 14x the ending value.

The headline returns line up with the dollar figures. Nvidia returned +43,334% against Tesla at +2998.7%, a gap of about 40,336 percentage points over the 11.6-year window. Compounded, that is about 68.9% a year for NVDA against 34.5% for TSLA.

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. The two paths differed in how rough they were. Tesla moved across a far wider band of yearly returns than Nvidia did. All figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.

Treat this as history rather than advice about either company. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Other start years

Nvidia vs Tesla from a different starting point

Since 2010 Since 2020 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Nvidia since 2015+43,334%Tesla since 2015+2998.7%

Compare any two stocks

Pick any two companies, any start date, any amount. See the winner instantly.

Numbers worth sharing

Occasional data drops when something interesting surfaces. No schedule, just signal.

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.