China’s BYD dethrones Tesla as world’s top EV maker amid Musk’s politics, tax credit woes
A customer revolt against Musk’s right-wing politics contributed to a 9 per cent sales drop, allowing BYD to overtake Tesla as the top EV maker
Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle (EV) maker on Friday to China’s BYD, as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics 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.
By contrast, BYD is now the world’s largest EV maker, having sold 2.26 million vehicles last year – a 27.9 per cent increase.
For the fourth quarter, Tesla sales totalled 418,227, falling short of the 440,000 that analysts polled by FactSet expected.
The sales total may likely have been impacted by the expiration of a US$7,500 Biden-era tax credit that was phased out by the Trump administration at the end of September.
BYD said sales outside China climbed to a record 1 million vehicles in 2025, up about 150 per cent from 2024. The company has said it aimed to sell as many as 1.6 million vehicles outside China in 2026, though it has not disclosed an overall sales target.