Try your own numbers
it would be worth today
$188,684
+$187,684 profit189x42.7% a year
The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $7,968
Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$160,532
US federal long-term rates: 15% for most people, 0% on lower incomes, 20% + 3.8% on high incomes. No state tax included; none inside a Roth IRA.
Growth Over Time
Performance Metrics
Total Invested
$1,000.00
Current Value
$188,684.49
Total Profit
$187,684.49
Multiplier
189x
CAGR
42.7%
Max Drawdown
-73.0%
Inflation-Adjusted
$132,889.45
Benchmark Comparison
How does $1,000.00 invested in 2012 compare across different asset classes?
| Asset | Value Today | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla | $188,684.49 | 189x |
| S&P 500 | $7,967.85 | 7.97x |
| Gold | $2,691.00 | 2.69x |
| Savings (2% APY) | $1,339.11 | 1.34x |
Dividends
Tesla paid no dividends over this period, so the whole return came from its share price.
Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.
Back in 2012
- In September 2012, Tesla unveiled its Supercharger network, built in secret, with six stations in California where Model S owners could charge for free. engadget.com
- In 2012, a gallon of gas averaged $3.62, a movie ticket averaged $7.96 and the new iPhone 5 started at $199 with a two-year contract. eia.govtechcrunch.comdeadline.com
- During 2012 itself, Tesla rose 26%, #25 of the 74 investments we track. The best was Bitcoin (+152%); the worst was AMD (−54%). Full 2012 results →
$1,000 in Tesla, year by year
Of the 74 investments we track that were available at the start of 2012, Tesla ranks #3 by growth to today, near the top — just behind NVIDIA and ahead of Broadcom. See the full 2012 ranking →
Tesla started 2012 at its highest start-of-year price up to then, after rising 5.6% in 2011. It has been worth more than the $1,000 put in at every January since, and still is today. Its best January was 2026, at $234,262. Today it's 19% below that, so selling then would have beaten holding. It rose in 11 of the 14 full years since. It has been ahead of the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at every January since, and still is. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from Nov 2021 ($203,130) to Dec 2022 ($65,572), a drop of 68%. At its lowest month-end, in Jul 2012, it was worth $973.10.
| When | Worth | Change | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of 2012 | $1,000 | — | $1,000 |
| Start of 2013 | $1,262 | +26% | $1,160 |
| Start of 2014 | $5,353 | +324% | $1,536 |
| Start of 2015 | $7,818 | +46% | $1,746 |
| Start of 2016 | $7,963 | +1.8% | $1,770 |
| Start of 2017 | $7,738 | −2.8% | $1,982 |
| Start of 2018 | $11,428 | +48% | $2,414 |
| Start of 2019 | $11,053 | −3.3% | $2,309 |
| Start of 2020 | $15,337 | +39% | $3,036 |
| Start of 2021 | $129,947 | +747% | $3,594 |
| Start of 2022 | $213,904 | +65% | $4,626 |
| Start of 2023 | $57,807 | −73% | $3,788 |
| Start of 2024 | $132,845 | +130% | $4,784 |
| Start of 2025 | $202,433 | +52% | $5,981 |
| Start of 2026 | $234,262 | +16% | $7,050 |
| Today | $188,684 | −19% | $7,968 |
Values at the start of each year (first trading day for stocks). The S&P 500 column includes reinvested dividends, like the stock values.
Historical Context
At the start of 2012, Tesla was priced at $1.87 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 535 shares. Tesla makes electric vehicles, batteries and energy-storage systems. It went public on the Nasdaq in June 2010.
Measured from one January to the next, Tesla's best year since then was 2020 (+747%) and its worst was 2022 (−73%). Holding on wasn't easy: between the start of 2022 and the start of 2023, the position fell 73% from its high.
Frequently Asked Questions
A $1,000 investment in Tesla at the start of 2012 would be worth approximately $188,684.49 today — a 189x return ($187,684.49 profit) over 14.7 years.
Methodology & Sources
Price data: Historical prices are the closing price on the first trading day of each year, adjusted for splits and dividends (so returns assume dividends were reinvested), from Yahoo Finance and MacroTrends. Current prices come from Yahoo Finance and refresh hourly; if that source is unavailable, the last saved price is used.
Calculation: Assumes a single purchase at the start of 2012 (or the first trading day, for companies that listed that year), held until today. No transaction fees, taxes, or slippage are included.
Benchmarks: The S&P 500 comparison uses the S&P 500 Total Return index (dividends reinvested, like an index fund) at the start of2012 and today. Gold uses the price per troy ounce. Savings account assumes a 2% APY compounded annually.
Inflation adjustment: Uses U.S. CPI-U annual averages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 2026 CPI value is estimated.
Educational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Not financial advice.
Other investments from 2012
Bitcoin · 2012
What If You Invested $1,000 in Bitcoin in 2012?
NVIDIA · 2012
What If You Invested $1,000 in NVIDIA in 2012?
Apple · 2012
What If You Invested $1,000 in Apple in 2012?
Amazon · 2012
What If You Invested $1,000 in Amazon in 2012?
See how every stock and crypto ranked since 2012 →
$1,000 in Tesla, by year
$1,000 in Tesla:1 year ago5 years ago10 years ago
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