Tesla Reports Drop in Car Deliveries for 2025
Tesla has announced a decline in its car deliveries, projecting a 9% decrease for 2025. This drop was steeper than analysts anticipated, resulting in Elon Musk’s company losing its top spot as the world’s leading electric vehicle seller to a Chinese competitor.
In its recent report, Tesla revealed that it delivered 418,227 vehicles in the fourth quarter, marking a 16% decrease compared to the same timeframe last year.
The company posted on its website that analysts now expect sales to fall by 15%, estimating around 422,850 units. Wall Street had anticipated approximately 426,000 vehicles, according to StreetAccount.
Year-to-date, Tesla managed to deliver 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, which is an 8.6% drop from the 1.79 million units delivered in 2024.
On the stock market, Tesla shares dipped by 0.4%, trading at $447.77 during Friday’s morning session.
Meanwhile, BYD, a Chinese competitor, reported a nearly 28% sales increase in battery-powered vehicles, totaling 2.26 million. This shift is quite striking, especially considering Musk’s previous comments where he dismissed competitors and criticized their offerings several years ago.
Tesla has been contending with significant competition this year from BYD, as well as Kia Motors, Hyundai Motors, and Volkswagen. These competitors contributed to the recent sales slump.
During the earnings call, investors expressed trepidation regarding Tesla’s emphasis on artificial intelligence and robotics instead of capitalizing on immediate market opportunities.
Tesla’s brand faced challenges due to Musk’s connection with the Trump administration earlier this year, particularly his role in a cost-cutting initiative that led to substantial layoffs and cuts to foreign aid.
Protests erupted at Tesla showrooms nationwide, with reports of car vandalism, including incidents involving Molotov cocktails.
In Europe, Tesla’s image suffered due to Musk’s support for the far-right AfD party in Germany and his controversial remarks regarding British activist Tommy Robinson and the European Union.
Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, commented that Europe continues to be a challenge for Tesla, although he expects a rebound in sales once Tesla’s self-driving technology receives approval from European regulators.
Over the first 11 months of 2025, Tesla’s registrations in Europe saw a dramatic drop of 39%, whereas BYD’s surged by 240% in the same period.
Interestingly, Tesla’s deliveries hit a record high in the third quarter, driven by U.S. consumers eager to claim a $7,500 federal tax incentive for EVs before it expired on September 30.
To combat the issue surrounding tax incentives’ disappearance, the company launched more affordable versions of the Model Y SUV and Model 3 sedan, both priced below $40,000.
Despite the disappointing earnings report and mixed feelings from investors, Tesla’s stock saw a 16% increase over the course of 2025. Notably, Musk purchased $1 billion worth of Tesla stock in September.
Additionally, Tesla reported an introduction of 14.2 gigawatt-hours in battery energy storage products during the fourth quarter, an increase from the previous quarter’s record of 12.5 gigawatt-hours.
The company’s battery energy systems include home backup batteries and large-scale systems catering to data centers with high energy demands.
Tesla is set to release its complete earnings report for the fourth quarter on January 28th.
In November, shareholders surprisingly approved a $1 trillion compensation plan for Musk, contingent on achieving ambitious performance targets over the next decade, including the delivery of 20 million vehicles and 1 million humanoid robots known as Optimus.
Musk has hinted that he might resign if any cuts to his unprecedented pay package occur.
