Evaluating TSLA Stock's Actual Performance

• Tesla's banal has been precise volatile implicit the past 5 years.

• Its one-year show has hardly beaten the market.

• Surprisingly, the company's three- and five-year returns are astir identical.

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Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) banal has taken its investors connected a chaotic thrust implicit the past 5 years. Since November of 2021, shareholders person been treated to immense terms jumps of much than 75%, and dizzying banal terms drops of much than 50%.

But however has Tesla done for investors who bought successful astatine different times? And however has that compared to the wide banal market? The answers whitethorn astonishment you.

Investors who bought Tesla shares a twelvemonth agone successful the aftermath of the 2024 statesmanlike predetermination -- successful which Tesla CEO Elon Musk played a large relation -- should beryllium blessed with their returns. The shares are up 25% from past to now, which beats the S&P 500's 14.5% full instrumentality implicit the aforesaid clip period.

However, for overmuch of the year, those investors were not lone losing retired to the broader market, but underwater connected an implicit basis. Tesla's shares fell arsenic overmuch arsenic 37% from their November 2024 prices successful April 2025, arsenic Musk's arguable governmental activities generated aggravated publicity that affected nationalist cognition of the company. They didn't instrumentality to market-beating presumption until September.

Tesla's all-time precocious closing terms of $479.86 a stock came connected Dec. 17, 2024, conscionable a fewer weeks shy of a twelvemonth ago. If you'd bought Tesla banal connected that time astatine that price, you'd beryllium losing to the marketplace by astir 25 percent points alternatively of starring it by nine. That's however chaotic Tesla's caller terms swings person been.

If you'd invested successful Tesla 3 years ago, connected Nov. 25, 2022, erstwhile the banal closed astatine $182.86/share, you'd beryllium decisively beating the marketplace close now, with a full instrumentality of 131% to the market's 75.5%. However, you would person had to upwind a stomach-churning 40% driblet successful the stock terms earlier the extremity of 2022, and you would person spent astir of 2024 losing to the market.

Surprisingly, if you'd bought shares of Tesla 2 years earlier, during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown epoch connected Nov. 25, 2020, your five-year show would beryllium astir identical to your three-year performance: 131% vs. 122%. That's due to the fact that Tesla shares went mode up successful 2021, and mode backmost down successful 2022.

The large quality is that the market's returns are 21 percent points amended astatine the five-year mark, up astir 101%. So portion Tesla banal is presently beating the marketplace by astir 21 percent points implicit the five-year period, it's spent overmuch much of the past 3 years losing to the marketplace than the three-year presumption has.