LONDON—Automakers spend millions of dollars on advertising, marketing and public relations. But, not Tesla. Instead, the company pours money into research and development efforts.

In fact, Tesla spends more on R&D than any other automaker. According to data compiled by StockApps.com, the company spends $2,984 on R&D per car produced. That’s three times the industry average of roughly $1,000 per car and higher than the collective R&D budgets of Ford, GM and Stellantis per car.

By comparison, Ford Motor Co. spent an average of  $468 on advertising in 2020 vs. $1,186 on R&D. Toyota Motor Corp. spent $454 vs. $1,063 and General Motors spent $394 vs. $878.