The Motley Fool·2026-01-27 04:13Core Viewpoint - Tesla and Meta Platforms are both leveraging AI to transform their businesses, but Meta appears to be a more favorable investment due to its current growth and lower risk profile compared to Tesla's reliance on the success of its Robotaxi service [1][2][3]. Tesla - Tesla's primary revenue source is currently from electric vehicle sales, but it aims to increase revenue from services like Robotaxi and self-driving software in the future [4][6]. - The company expects hardware-related profits to be complemented by AI and software profits over time, with plans for over-the-air updates to enable full self-driving capabilities [6][4]. - Tesla's net income fell by 37% year over year in its most recent quarter, indicating financial struggles as it awaits the success of its Robotaxi initiative [7]. Meta Platforms - Meta's revenue grew by 26% year over year in the third quarter, with AI improvements cited as a key driver for this growth [8][9]. - Despite a one-time non-cash charge affecting net income, the underlying performance showed a 19% increase in net income when excluding this charge [8]. - Meta has significantly increased its capital expenditures outlook for the year to between $70 billion and $72 billion, with expectations for 2026 expenditures to exceed $100 billion, primarily for AI-capable computing power [10]. Investment Comparison - Meta is positioned as a better investment due to its current revenue growth benefiting from AI, while Tesla's future heavily depends on the success of its Robotaxi plans [13][14]. - The price-to-earnings ratio for Meta is around 30, while Tesla's exceeds 300, indicating that Tesla's valuation requires flawless execution of its ambitious plans, making it riskier [14][15].