The top electric vehicle (EV) maker in the world remains Tesla ( TSLA +2.57% ) , but competition has been increasing from upstarts like Rivian ( RIVN +12.11% ) . Both stocks experienced a lot of ups and downs in 2025, but it is Rivian will be the best-performing stock this year, with its share price up more than 23% year to date as of this writing, compared to about a 10% increase for Tesla.

But that's past performance. Let's examine which stock looks poised to outperform in 2026.

The case for Tesla

2025 was a rough year for Tesla operationally -- its revenue dropped both in Q1 and Q2, as its automotive deliveries fell. It did see a bounce-back in revenue and auto deliveries in Q3 ahead of the end of the federal tax credit for EVs, although its adjusted earnings per

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