Tesla Is No Longer the World's Top EV Seller After Q4 Sales Fall
China's BYD claimed the crown with 2.26 million vehicles sold in 2025.
China’s BYD claimed the crown with 2.26 million vehicles sold in 2025.
By Jonathan Small | edited by Jessica Thomas | Jan 02, 2026
Tesla lost its throne as the world’s largest electric vehicle maker after reporting a brutal fourth quarter that saw sales drop 16 percent to 418,000 vehicles. China’s BYD took the top spot with 2.26 million EVs sold globally in 2025, up 28 percent from last year.
The collapse came after the September elimination of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit sparked a third-quarter buying frenzy that cannibalized year-end sales. Tesla’s stale product lineup also didn’t help. The Model Y hasn’t seen major updates since its 2020 launch, and the Cybertruck delivered a paltry 11,642 units in Q4 after once promising over 200,000 annual sales.
But Wall Street remains unfazed, keeping Tesla stock near record highs as investors bet on Elon Musk‘s robotaxi and humanoid robot vision rather than actual car sales. The company has quietly abandoned its ambitious 20-million-vehicles-by-2030 target.
Tesla lost its throne as the world’s largest electric vehicle maker after reporting a brutal fourth quarter that saw sales drop 16 percent to 418,000 vehicles. China’s BYD took the top spot with 2.26 million EVs sold globally in 2025, up 28 percent from last year.
The collapse came after the September elimination of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit sparked a third-quarter buying frenzy that cannibalized year-end sales. Tesla’s stale product lineup also didn’t help. The Model Y hasn’t seen major updates since its 2020 launch, and the Cybertruck delivered a paltry 11,642 units in Q4 after once promising over 200,000 annual sales.
But Wall Street remains unfazed, keeping Tesla stock near record highs as investors bet on Elon Musk‘s robotaxi and humanoid robot vision rather than actual car sales. The company has quietly abandoned its ambitious 20-million-vehicles-by-2030 target.