Tesla deliveries fell last quarter after the end of electric car subsidies
USA decreased significantly. They fell by 15.6 percent year-on-year to 418,227 vehicles, as the company led by Elon Musk announced. This means that Tesla is no longer the world’s leading company in electromobility.
The Chinese car manufacturer BYD overtook the US company: BYD sold 2.26 million pure electric vehicles last year, while Tesla’s delivery figures fell to 1.636 million vehicles in 2025. This corresponds to a decrease of 8.5 percent. Tesla reached its previous peak in 2023 with just over 1.8 million cars delivered.
Tesla shares rose 11.4 percent in 2025
A role in the decline in the final quarter may have been played by US President Donald Trump’s tax break of $7,500 when purchasing Electric cars expired at the end of September. In the third quarter, Tesla deliveries rose by 7.4 percent to 497,099 because many interested parties in the USA wanted to take the bonus with them. Now came the decline – as with other manufacturers.
Despite the weaker sales figures, Tesla shares rose by around 11.4 percent in 2025. Investors’ optimism is increasingly based on future projects such as robotaxis, the further development of autonomous driving and the construction of humanoid robots. Musk wants to transform Tesla from a pure electric car manufacturer into an artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics giant. However, Tesla is only at the beginning of development in both areas and is facing strong competition.
BYD relies on exports
BYD, whose name stands for the English slogan “Build your dreams”, was founded in 1995 and originally specialized in battery production. Although the Chinese company has to contend with a tough price war on the Chinese market, it is increasingly relying on exports. In addition to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, BYD is also enjoying increasing success in Europe.
BYD is also systematically building up production capacity outside of China, which is valuable given increasing trade conflicts. In addition to pure electric cars, the company also sells hybrid cars.
