We Asked ChatGPT To Pick Between Tesla and Apple Stock: Here’s What It Chose
Written by
Jordan Rosenfeld
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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If it seems like all big-name stocks are essentially the same, you might be surprised to learn that brand recognition and hearty sales aren’t enough to guarantee a stock’s success. Even household names like Tesla and Apple can be subject to a variety of factors that affect their stock prices and values.
However, as a thought experiment, GOBankingrates decided to see what our friendly neighborhood chatbot, ChatGPT, might have to say about the difference if forced to pick. Here’s what it said.
Don’t Expect Investing Advice
My first query rubbed ChatGPT the wrong way, because it interpreted it as me asking it for investing advice, so it set me straight saying, “I don’t give personal investment advice, but I can help you think through the pros and cons of investing in Tesla vs. Apple based on expert analysis and general investor considerations.”
Why Investors Choose Apple
First, it broke down the reasons why investors tend to choose Apple, including:
- Consistent profitability and cash flow: Apple is one of the most profitable companies in the world with a strong balance sheet.
- Brand loyalty and ecosystem: iPhones, iPads, Macs and services like iCloud and Apple Music keep users coming back.
- Dividends: Apple pays a dividend.
- Lower volatility: It’s historically less volatile than Tesla.
However, it also pointed out Apple’s risks, which include slower growth compared to more disruptive, innovative tech companies, and an overdependence on “hardware sales in a saturated market.”
Why Investors Choose Tesla
Tesla, on the other hand, has made a lot of its success through innovation and disruption. Reasons investors choose it include:
- High growth story: Tesla is a leader in electric vehicles (EVs), autonomous driving and energy storage, sectors with massive growth potential.
- Strong brand and innovation reputation: It’s more than just a car company.
- Volatility = opportunity: High price swings attract traders and risk-tolerant investors.
However, even Tesla has risks. ChatGPT warned that Tesla often trades at “high price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios,” which may be hard to justify if growth slows. It is also subject to the “unpredictable” behavior of its eccentric CEO, Elon Musk, and regulatory hurdles.
If ChatGPT Were an Investor
While all of that was interesting, I realized that maybe I wasn’t phrasing my query in the right way, so I told ChatGPT that I didn’t want it to give investing advice; I wanted it to act like an investor. With that new query on board, I asked, if you were an investor, what stock would you pick? Here’s what it said:
A Long-Term Investor With Stability in Mind
ChatGPT said that if it were a long-term investor prioritizing stability, “I’d choose Apple.”
The reasons included such factors as Apple’s proven track record of steady returns, its dividend-paying stock and a lack of volatility as compared to Tesla. Moreover, ChatGPT wrote, “It’s entrenched in consumer habits–people replace their phones every few years and stay in the ecosystem.”
In summary, ChatGPT suggested that Apple is a “buy and hold” comfort stock “with world-class fundamentals.”
A Growth-Focused Investor With a Higher Risk Tolerance
On the other hand, ChatGPT said that if it were a growth-focused investor with a higher risk tolerance, it would pick Tesla.
The reasons included the way Tesla is at the intersection of multiple industries that are “future-focused,” from EVs to battery storage and AI. It’s a stock that has room for an “explosive” upside and downside, but one with a track record of “industry disruption.”
Any Tesla stock purchased in a dip would be “a big win.” However, it did warn that this fictional investor would have to “brace for wild swings.”
A Stock Pick for Right Now
After all that hemming and hawing, ChatGPT said that if forced to choose right now, it would choose Apple — because, in the “choppy” mid-2025, market conditions “Apple is more likely to weather economic uncertainty. It’s not flashy, but it’s dependable.”
The good news is that investors don’t have to choose only one. Most portfolios can include a diverse allocation of stocks, and many mutual funds, retirement accounts and more already include both.
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