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Digging into 2025 electric vehicle sales in California, Tesla was still absolutely dominant. As you’ll see in the charts below, Tesla sells an enormous amount more EVs in the state than any other auto company, and its popular Model Y and Model 3 are the 1st and 4th most popular models in the state overall. And that brings up some great points a CleanTechnica reader named Assaf brought up earlier today:
“Tesla still being 3rd best-selling brand in CA (though probably only 5th OEM) — vs. its far lower position in rest of US — illustrates a fact that is not mentioned nearly enough, neither here and surely not elsewhere in the media:
“Tesla owes its existence and success to California — California policies, its economy, and the environmental tendencies of its population. Without California, Tesla would have never gotten off the ground, or would have crashed shortly after take-off.
“And in return to those company- and career-saving favors, since 2020 Elon Musk has been stabbing California in the back repeatedly. Either he’s been playing the Long Con on Californians and decided it’s time to show his true face. Or, very charitably, California (and Tesla itself) have fallen victim to the world’s worst case of middle-age crisis.
“As culture wars continue to determine what people perceive as facts, IMHO it is important to hammer this point again and again.”
Excellent points, Assaf.
With that said, let’s look closer at the results of this mutually beneficial relationship between Tesla and California.
Note: Underneath the static images below, I am also including embedded interactive versions. Some may be able to view the static images easier, and some may be able to view the embedded ones better.
Tesla sold nearly 180,000 vehicles in California in 2025. The auto brand with the second highest EV sales was Hyundai, with 25,123. It’s not even close, not even close to close.
Among the 10 top selling vehicle models in the Golden State in 2025, the Tesla Model Y was #1 by far, surpassing 110,000 sales, while the #2 Toyota RAV4 didn’t even reach 66,000. The Tesla Model 3 was in 4th place, with nearly 54,000 sales.
Among SUVs and trucks, the Model Y was of course #1 as well. One other electric vehicle made it onto the top 10 list, though. The Hyundai IONIQ 5 landed exactly in 10th. However, there were also three models between the Model Y and the IONIQ 5 that have both electric and non-electric versions — the Ford F-Series, the Chevy Silverado, and the Chevy Equinox.
Among cars, the Tesla Model 3 was the second best seller in the state, only trailing the Toyota Camry.
The dominance of Tesla in this market is enormous. One would think that Elon Musk and Tesla would refrain from making California and Californians enemies and risking all of this, but even despite a variety of controversies in recent years, it’s clear many Californians still see Teslas as the best options on the market.
Yes, Tesla sales were down significantly in 2025, but it’s still in a league of its own in California. Will that change in 2026, or will Tesla continue to be at the top of auto sales charts?
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