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Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock continues to be a popular investment. And I can understand why – currently it’s nearly 50% off its highs.
For those looking to invest in electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous vehicles however, I think it’s worth considering another stock. This one’s held by legendary investor Warren Buffett, and today it trades at a far more attractive valuation than Tesla.
BYD’s sales are surging
The stock I’m talking about is BYD (OTC: BYDD.Y). It’s a Chinese EV manufacturer that has stock market listings in both China and the US.
You may have seen BYD’s EVs around in recent years. They are pretty slick, and becoming very popular with consumers. This popularity is illustrated by the company’s recent sales figures. In 2024, the company sold 1.76m EVs, an increase of about 10% year on year. Overall, it sold a record 4.3m vehicles in 2024, up 41% year on year.
As for Tesla, it sold 1.79m cars in 2024 (all EVs), a decrease of about 3%.
Here in the UK (where it launched its EVs in March 2023), BYD sold 9,271 cars in the first quarter of 2025. That figure exceeds the company’s entire 2024 UK sales volume. So its cars are clearly popular with Britons. Turning to Tesla, its UK sales have been weak this year – in January they were down 7% year on year.
Zooming in on revenues, BYD’s are surging. For 2024, its top line jumped by 29% to CNY777bn ($107bn). This topped the $97.7bn reported by Tesla. Note that Tesla’s 2024 revenue was only up 1% year on year.
A lot to be excited about
Looking ahead, there are plenty of reasons to be bullish. Recently, BYD launched a low cost model (the Qin L) to take on Tesla’s Model 3. Meanwhile, earlier this year the company launched new battery charging technology, which can charge an EV in just five minutes. It also announced that its advanced driver-assistance technology (‘God’s Eye’) would be available free in all its models.
Low valuation
Perhaps the best thing about BYD stock however, is its valuation. Currently, it trades on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 25, falling to 21 using next year’s earnings estimate. That’s a much lower valuation than Tesla has, which is currently trading at 98 times this year’s forecast earnings and 73 times next year’s.
So on a relative basis, there appears to be a lot of value here.
Risks to consider
Of course, there are plenty of risks to consider with BYD. One is competition from other manufacturers. Today, pretty much every major auto manufacturer is producing EVs and competition’s intense.
Another is tariffs. EU tariffs on its passenger cars, and US tariffs on its buses and trucks could hurt profits. A major global recession is another risk. When economic conditions weaken, consumers tend to hold off on the purchase of new vehicles.
All things considered however, I think this stock has a lot of potential and is worth looking at. For me, it’s a safer bet than Tesla.
