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Tesla is no longer the largest electric car manufacturerChinese electric vehicle maker BYD outperformed Tesla by more than half a million sales in 2025, as Tesla’s annual sales dropped 9% as compared to 2024The EV brand’s decreased sales come after widespread backlash against its CEO Elon Musk, whose conservative politics positioned him as a polarizing figure
Tesla has been unseated as the biggest electric car manufacturer in the world.
In 2025, Tesla’s annual sales dropped 9% from the year prior, the Associated Press and CBS News reported, following widespread backlash to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s conservative politics and his close alignment with President Donald Trump during the first half of 2025. The AP noted that an increased distrust in the vehicles’ safety also made an impact.
In 2025, Tesla sold a total of 1.64 million vehicles, according to Business Insider, compared to 1.79 million in 2024.
Instead, Chinese EV manufacturer BYD outperformed Tesla by over half a million sales in 2025, the AP reported, ultimately selling 2.26 million vehicles and thus becoming the largest electric vehicle maker in the world.
Elon Musk speaks alongside Donald Trump to reporters in the Oval Office on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty
Decreased Tesla sales come after multiple recalls in 2025 and diminishing trust in the vehicles’ safety. In March, over 46,000 Cybertrucks were recalled due to a risk of a trim panel detaching, increasing the risk of the car crashing. In October, more than 63,000 Cybertrucks were recalled, this time due to the front lights exceeding the “maximum permissible intensity,” which would pose a risk to other drivers’ visibility.
Along with the recalls, Tesla was ordered to pay $243 million in damages in August 2025 related to a Tesla vehicle’s automated driving system malfunctioning, resulting in a fatal crash. The decision apparently sowed further distrust in the reliability of the vehicles, as sales continued to drop.
In addition, Musk, 54, continues to face scrutiny for his significant and controversial involvement in the beginning of Trump’s second term.
After spearheading the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, which carried out widespread layoffs throughout the federal government, Musk became an especially polarizing figure.
Abigail Wright, a consultant at the business advisory firm Chamber of Commerce, told Newsweek in March that Musk’s controversial politics were “alienating key international markets where political sentiment plays a major role in consumer perception and decisions.”
Elon Musk.
Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty
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Between December 2024 and March 2025 — a period in which he served as a close advisor to Trump — Musk’s net worth dropped by more than $144 billion, Forbes reported in March. And between October 2024 and March 2025, Tesla’s stock price had fallen more than 15%.
In the wake of the company’s stock prices plunging, Trump defended Musk’s vehicles and said he would also buy one of Tesla’s cars “as a show of confidence.” This move prompted questions about both Trump’s and Musk’s conflicts of interest, and subjected perception around the brand to further polarization.
PEOPLE has reached out to Tesla for comment.
