Missed Out On Investing In Tesla? Invest In These Next "Tesla" Electric Vehicle Companies

Updated: Nov 10, 2022

Analysis from CNBC reveals that if you had invested $1,000 in Tesla (TSLA) stock in November 2011, it would have been worth over $200,000 in late 2021. That's over a 20,000% return on investment in just a decade. Business Insider shows that currently, TSLA stock is worth about $177 per share (November 2022).

Much of the success of Tesla Inc. stems from its unconventional and futuristic tech products. Their range of products is unique and unrivaled by any other tech company. Spearheading this billion-dollar company, among several others, is the innovative entrepreneur, Elon Musk (CEO).

If you missed out on investing in Tesla in 2011, it might interest you to know about other electric vehicle (EV) companies with great potential. These companies offer a great return on investment and investing in them could be the best financial decision you could make.

This article focuses on:

Lucid Motors (LCID)
NIO (NIO)
Rivian Automotive (RIVN)
Proterra (PTRA)
Evgo (EVGO)
Chargepoint (CHPT)
Quantumscape (QS)

1. Lucid Motors (LCID)

As a start-up electric vehicle company, Lucid Motors really stood out in 2021 by delivering and exceeding its promises.

Lucid promised to begin fulfilling orders for its vehicles in fall 2021, and Lucid delivered on this promise unlike other early stage EV companies. Lucid promised that their electric vehicles would have industry leading battery technology. Their Lucid Dream Edition vehicles were rated with the longest mile range of any electric car in 2021 by the Environmental Protection Agency at 520 miles on a single charge.

Lucid’s track record of achieving their lofty goals could position them as a future industry leader to compete with behemoths like Tesla and legacy auto makers this decade.

Lucid Group Inc. is an American-based electric vehicle manufacturing company. It has its headquarters in Newark, California with Peter Rawlinson as CEO. Besides manufacturing EVs, Lucid Motors is also concerned with energy storage.

Lucid Motors models are luxury-oriented. Its models are exotic and promise to overtake those of Tesla. In 2022, MotorTrend awarded its best car of the year to Lucid Air, Lucid Motors' first EV.

MotorTrend applauded Lucid Air as engineering expertise at its best. More models are also expected from this EV manufacturer with a long line of pre-orders.

According to market capitalization, Companies Market Cap ranks Lucid Motors as the #3 largest EV company with a market cap of $18.75 billion. Lucid Motors is backed by companies such as Jafco Life Science, Venrock, and Mitsui.

CNN Business reveals that LCID stock is currently worth $11.21 per share (November 2022). Analysts speculate that within the next 12 months, it would be worth between $21 and $36/share.

2. NIO (NIO)

Simply put, despite all competition, NIO is the best positioned to be the “Tesla” of China.

NIO is a Chinese-based company that manufactures automobiles including EVs. It has its headquarters in Shanghai, China with William Li as its CEO and cofounder. NIO has massive backing from the Chinese government.

Though it is Chinese based, NIO shares are traded on the US stock exchange and it is under the regulation of the US SEC.

Much of NIO's revenue comes from EV sales. NIO's EVs offer unprecedented features in terms of speed and other areas. NIO also develops EV charging stations, smart connectivity, and other customer service products.

Companies Market Cap ranks NIO as the #5 largest EV company by market capitalization with an estimated market cap of nearly $16 billion.

NIO has designed and produced three models of EVs and delivered over 140,000 units to customers. It is fast expanding, over the borders of China into other Asian countries and Europe, recently selling its first cars in Norway.

What differentiates NIO from the rest is their battery-as-a-service subscription model and battery swapping stations. NIO owners can choose to spend less upfront when purchasing a vehicle by renting their car batteries. These can be swapped for a fully charged battery at battery swap stations in three minutes once depleted. NIO is the first electric automaker to successfully implement battery swapping, which is crucial as it saves time by not requiring users to leave their car hooked up to a charger. Renting the battery can help offset the exorbitant cost of purchasing a new electric vehicle, which is often a deterrent for potential customers.

According to CNN Business, NIO stock is currently worth about $9/share and analysts forecast an increase up to $66/share in the next 12 months (November 2022).

3. Rivian Automotive (RIVN)

Rivian Automotive Inc is another American-based company that manufactures and develops EV tech. It is founded by Robert Scaringe and has its headquarters in Irvine, California.

Rivian has serious backing from Amazon Inc, T. Rowe Price Group, and Ford Motor Co. In fact, Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery trucks from Rivan as an early, large stakeholder in the business prior to its initial public offering (IPO) in 2021.

Companies Market Cap puts Rivian with a market cap of over $25 billion as the #2 largest EV company. Carscoops also reveals that Rivian is in Time's top 100 most influential companies of 2022.

EVs manufactured by Rivian Automotive include an electric truck, R1T, and an electric SUV, R1S. These vehicles are powerful and suited for rough terrain. Rivian also produces its LFP nickel-free batteries.

The appeal of Rivian is that the company is fulfilling an unserved niche of the electric vehicle industry with its electric trucks and delivery vehicles. This means that the company has a long runway for growth without competing directly with Tesla.

Ever since the production of the first R1T EV electric truck, Rivian vehicles have been in high demand. Its alliances with Amazon Inc and Ford Motor Co have caught the eye of several investors thereby increasing its sky-high potential.

Currently, RIVN stock is worth over $28/share and an analysis from CNN Business forecasts that the price of RIVN will increase to anything between $50/share to $83/share in the next 12 months.

4. Proterra (PTRA)

Proterra Inc is an American-based tech company that manufactures transit electric buses and heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

It is also involved with converting buses that run on diesel or natural gas to electric buses. This company is headquartered in Burlingame, California.

Proterra is dominating an untapped market in the EV space with its first mover advantage as the largest U.S. electric bus manufacturer to become the “Tesla” of transit vehicles.

Ever since the advent of EVs, a lot of commercial transport agencies in North America and Europe have started opting for electric buses.

This involved not just acquiring new electric buses but also electrifying their already owned buses.

Opting for EVs was the solution preferred to pollution by the use of fossil fuels as EVs were a means of zero-emission transportation.

Proterra not only manufactures these buses but also develops EV charging stations that are compatible with electric buses.

In fact, Proterra is one of the few companies on this list that has a fully vertically integrated technology ecosystem. The company manufactures its batteries and electric charging network in-house, but also provides the full-service, cloud-based fleet management system for all their clients' needs.

Analysis from Companies Market Cap puts Proterra as the #10 largest EV company by market capitalization with a market cap of about $1.28 billion.

Proterra has so much potential as more transport agencies seek to electrify their bus fleets and incorporate more EVs in their transport network.

According to CNN Business, PTRA is $5.72/share and analysts forecast that its price will increase to as high as $10/share in the next year (November 2022)

5. ChargePoint (CHPT)

It can be hard to speculate on which electric automaker will provide the best return for your stock portfolio, which is why it helps to have an electric automaker's agnostic investment in electric charging network stocks.

As EV adoption grows around the globe, there will someday need to be as many charging stations as gas stations, meaning that investing in the right EV charging stocks will have unlimited upside regardless of which electric vehicle companies ultimately win.

This is why ChargePoint Holdings Inc. needs to be in your portfolio as it is one of the largest electric charging network in the United States and the world.

ChargePoint is concerned with the manufacturing and development of technology that they install in their network of EV charging stations. Its headquarters is in Campbell, California.

Analysis from Companies Market Cap reveals that ChargePoint is the second-largest EV charging company by market capitalization, second only to Tesla.

ChargePoint charging stations offer 24/7 service with a user-friendly interface. Charging stations also come with different charging powers--from AC stations for residential areas and small retail businesses, to DC stations which are faster.

DC ChargePoint stations are suitable for industrial and large-scale commercial establishments.

ChargePoint also partners with business owners to install charging stations on their property.

ChargePoint has dominated most of North America and is expanding into Europe. With the EV industry expanding every day, this venture has so much potential.

Analysis from CNN Business shows that CHPT stock is worth $11.23/share currently and speculates it would be worth about $20/share in the next 12 months (November 2022)

6. EVgo (EVGO)

Similar to ChargePoint, EVgo is one of the largest electric charging station networks that will do well regardless of which electric car maker succeeds.

However, EVgo, is the largest EV fast charging network where the charging stations can charge 80% of the battery in 30 minutes compared to hours from its competitors.

This is critical as EV adoption depends on the convenience and speed to get back on the road if people are to switch from refueling at gas stations.

The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with Catherine Zoi as CEO.

EVgo partners with automakers like Hyundai, Ford, Tesla, BMW, Nissan, Kia, and Toyota. Customers of these automakers enjoy complimentary charging at EVgo charging stations.

Cooperation with these automakers causes the number of EVgo users to increase from year to year.

EVgo is flourishing in the industry of EV charging stations. Companies Market Cap puts it as the #3 largest EV charging company by market capitalization.

As the EV market is relatively young, investing in EV charging companies is profitable. The increase in the supply of EVs has upped the demand for EV charging stations. EV charging station investment has lots of potential.

Currently EVGO stock is worth $6.47/share. Analysis from CNN Business shows that analysts speculate that EVGO will be worth as much $21/share within the next 12 months (November 2022)

7. QuantumScape (QS)

What people do not always understand is that the electric vehicle market is first and foremost a technology race.

Only the vehicle makers with the most impressive battery technology including fast charging times and long mile range will ultimately prosper.

Quantumscape Corporation is an American-based tech company engaged in developing solid-state lithium metal batteries for EVs.

It has its headquarters in San Jose, California with Jagdeep Singh as CEO and cofounder.

QuantumScape is currently worth over $50 billion and is backed by Bill Gates and Volkswagen.

QuantumScape introduced solid lithium batteries as a replacement for liquid lithium-ion batteries.

These solid-state lithium metal batteries provide a source for energy storage that you could recharge more quickly and make use of at low temperatures.

It also promises capacity for enabling EVs to travel longer distances and take less time to recharge.

These next-generation batteries are still under testing but are set to replace the liquid lithium-ion batteries already in use by EVs.

With a lot of potential buyers already on the line, and having the backing of Bill Gates and Volkswagen, QS should be on your investment radar.

CNN Business gives the price of QS stock at $6.73/share and speculates that it could possibly get to $14/share in the next 12 months (November 2022)

Conclusion

Electric vehicles are the portal to a zero-emission transportation sector.

Undoubtedly, the future of transport hinges on EVs, and soon, gas and fossil fuel-driven transport will fade out. Most EV manufacturing companies are still under a decade old and might be struggling to find balance in all these economic crises.

But the electric vehicle revolution is inevitable, and will be a secular growth trend for at least the next few decades. Invest in these companies now at these rock bottom valuations during this stock market crash. With these stock prices under $30, it's a moonshot bet you can afford.

Don't miss out.