--- title: "Tesla vs Ford: Which Automaker Belongs In Your Long-Term Portfolio?" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/294230642.md" description: "Tesla and Ford reported divergent Q2 results: Tesla missed profit targets due to high AI spending, while Ford beat expectations on strong truck sales. Tesla maintains EV leadership but faces valuation risks, whereas Ford offers dividends despite EV unit losses. Analysts rate Ford a Moderate Buy and Tesla a Hold, with Tesla showing higher upside potential for growth investors and Ford appealing to income seekers." datetime: "2026-07-29T15:32:31.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/294230642.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294230642.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/294230642.md) --- # Tesla vs Ford: Which Automaker Belongs In Your Long-Term Portfolio? Anyone looking to buy car stocks is choosing between two totally different businesses in Tesla (TSLA) and Ford (F). Tesla functions as a pure-play electric vehicle and software firm, while Ford relies on traditional truck sales to fund its move into electric cars. ### Claim 55% Off TipRanks High conviction TSLA bears now have this Tradr ETF Recent second-quarter earnings results highlight this gap. Tesla stock fell after reporting a sharp profit miss caused by high artificial intelligence spending and lower credit sales. In contrast, Ford shares jumped after the Detroit automaker beat profit expectations and raised its full-year earnings guidance. ## **Tesla Maintains its EV Lead** Tesla holds a huge lead in making electric cars and large power batteries. Second-quarter car sales reached a record 480,126 units, lifting total sales up 26% to $28.24 billion. The firm also sold a record amount of power storage gear, proving it can grow beyond just selling cars. On top of that, Tesla can make extra money from its self-driving software and robots. Even so, spending so much money on new tech and computer gear takes a big bite out of profits. Tesla's second-quarter profit fell to 33 cents per share, missing Wall Street targets of 53 cents. Profit margins dropped to 1.4% as sales of green credits dried up. Tesla's stock price sits at over 300 times earnings, which makes shares swing sharply and leaves little room for error. ## **Ford Relies on its Traditional Truck Profits** Ford makes most of its money from selling gas trucks and work vans. In the second quarter, gas truck and SUV sales brought in $1.1 billion in profit. At the same time, sales of work vans and fleet trucks added $1.7 billion. These strong sales helped Ford raise its profit targets for the full year to between $10 billion and $11 billion. Ford also pays a 4% dividend, making it a good choice for people who want to earn passive income. Even with strong cash flow, Ford faces big problems. Its electric car unit lost $900 million in the second quarter alone. Ford also set aside $4.2 billion to fix bad battery deals and cancel electric models that were not selling well. On top of that, unsold cars sitting at dealerships and potential taxes on foreign parts continue to hurt Ford's profits. ## **Which Is Better, Ford or Tesla?** Choosing between these two car makers comes down to what you want from your money. Tesla gives you a shot at bigger long-term growth through software and electric car sales. Still, TSLA investors must get comfortable with big price swings and a high stock price relative to peers. Ford works better for people looking for steady cash payouts from dividends and reliable money from gas truck sales. Even so, Ford must fix its large losses in its electric car unit while dealing with rising factory costs. Investors looking for fast tech growth will likely prefer Tesla, while those who want passive income via dividends may find Ford a safer pick. According to the TipRanks Stock Comparison tool, we can see that Ford's stock has been rated a Moderate Buy, whereas Tesla sits at a Hold. Even with that lower rating, analysts see over 26% upside for Tesla shares based on their average price targets, compared to a small drop expected for Ford. ### Related Stocks - [F-C.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/F-C.US.md) - [F-D.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/F-D.US.md) - [F-B.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/F-B.US.md) - [TSLA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLA.US.md) - [F.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/F.US.md) - [TSL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSL.US.md) - [FRDD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FRDD.US.md) - [TSDD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSDD.US.md) - [TESL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TESL.US.md) - [TSLG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLG.US.md) - [TSLL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLL.US.md) - [TSLS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLS.US.md) - [TSLQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLQ.US.md) - [TSLT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLT.US.md) - [TSLZ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLZ.US.md) - [FRDU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FRDU.US.md) - [TSLR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLR.US.md) - [TSLI.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLI.US.md) - [TSLO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLO.US.md) - [TSLW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLW.US.md) - [TSLY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLY.US.md) - [TSYY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSYY.US.md) - [TYYY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TYYY.US.md) - [CRSH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CRSH.US.md) - [TSLP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLP.US.md) - [MAGX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MAGX.US.md) - [07766.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/07766.HK.md) - [09366.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09366.HK.md) ## Related News & Research - [William Mack & Associates Inc. 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