Tesla ceded the title of world’s top seller of electric cars to China’s BYD, squandering a lead the Elon Musk-led company built as it popularized plug-in vehicles over the past decade.
The U.S. automaker reported a 16% decline in fourth quarter deliveries, trailing analyst estimates. For the year, Tesla sales slid almost 9%, its second consecutive annual drop.
BYD, by contrast, increased battery-electric vehicle sales both for the quarter and the full year, delivering almost 2.26 million EVs in 2025 to Tesla’s 1.64 million.
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