Tesla loses title as world’s biggest EV maker as sales fall for second year
The car maker’s sales fell 9 per cent in 2025, but investors seem unfazed as the company pivots to new products.
Tesla loses title as world’s biggest EV maker as sales fall for second year
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By Paul Harloff and Bernard Condon
January 3, 2026 — 7.05am
New York (AP) – Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker on Friday as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics, expiring US tax breaks for buyers and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row.
Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9 per cent from a year earlier.
Chief executive Elon Musk once dismissed Chinese rival BYD as a threat as Tesla’s rise seemed unstoppable.Credit: Bloomberg
Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, is now the biggest EV maker.
It’s a stunning reversal for Musk who once dismissed BYD as a threat as Tesla’s rise seemed unstoppable, crushing traditional automakers with far more resources and helping make him the world’s richest man.
For the fourth quarter, sales totalled 418,227, falling short of the 440,000 that analysts polled by FactSet expected. The sales total was impacted by the expiration of a $7500 tax credit that was phased out by the Trump administration at the end of September.
Tesla stock was up 0.5 per cent at $451.60 in early trading Friday.
