Tesla loses place as world’s top electric vehicle seller to China’s BYD
In 2025, Tesla lost its position as the world's top electric vehicle seller to China's BYD, selling 1.64 million vehicles compared to BYD's 2.26 million. This decline, a 9% decrease from the previous year, occurred amid CEO Elon Musk's controversial political involvement and the end of US electric vehicle tax breaks.
The story so far
- Jan 2
How outlets cover it
3 outletsNot rated on the left–right scale. It describes Western party politics and doesn’t fit state media or outlets outside that system, so we show ownership and country instead.
Open questions and key claims
BYD's battery-powered car sales rose almost 28% last year to more than 2.25 million.
Tesla car sales dropped 9% in 2025.
Tesla delivered 1.64 million cars worldwide during 2025.
BYD sold 2.26 million electric cars globally last year.
Tesla sold 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, compared with BYD’s 2.26 million vehicles.
Analysts expected Tesla's fourth quarter sales to reach 440,000.
Tesla is estimated to have sold around 1.65 million vehicles for the year as a whole.
The sales represented a 9 percent decline for Tesla from a year earlier.
Who and where
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