What’s happening to electric vehicle giant Tesla? Will China’s BYD solidify its EV market share dominance this year like last year? Is it all about the controversial role CEO Elon Musk has taken in the Trump administration?
The 2025 sales numbers have been poor for Tesla, as you can see in this chart. U.S. sales numbers won’t come out from Tesla until April for the first quarter.
Automotive News reports that Tesla’s stock has eroded by $700 billion as sales slide globally in the wake of what it calls the ‘Trump bump.’
Tesla was the world’s biggest producer of battery electric vehicles in 2024, but sales dropped to 1.79 million, the first time the company has endured a sales decline since 2011 after years of rapid growth that made it the world’s most valuable carmaker, according to The Guardian. The Tesla Model Y was the biggest selling EV in the world in January at 66,536 units sold in globally. Number two was the BYD Song / Seal U at 47,502 units sold, according to CleanTechnica. The Tesla Model 3 came in at No. 4 on the list, with 27,772 units sold.
In 2024, Cox Automotive estimates that Tesla sold 38,965 Cybertrucks. The company said the Cybertruck became profitable for the first time with a positive gross margin during Q3 2024.
According to recent data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, Tesla sales across the European Union, European Free Trade Association, and the United Kingdom declined to 9,945 in February from 18,161 in January 2024.
Some possible reasons for Tesla’s sales decline:
Politics: California is Tesla’s largest U.S. market, and tends to be more liberal politically. Its California sales dropped almost 8% in the fourth quarter of 2024, and 12% for the year. His backing of a right-wing party in Germany seems to be hurting him. Ahead of Germany’s February election, Musk advocated for the far-right Alternative for Germany party and said at a virtual event for the party that there’s “too much of a focus on past guilt” in that country. There are also signs of him being condemned by a number of environmental and political groups, and celebrities, in the U.S. and Europe, according to social media posts, which is hurting sales.
Chinese competition: Though Tesla also saw a steep dive in February sales, compared to a year earlier, observers say that’s more likely explained by increased competition from inexpensive Chinese competitors. BYD’s Seagull is a popular, inexpensive EV with a starting price of around $9,500, and a range of up to 252 miles.
Changing market: Rising competition and the decision by some consumers to wait for a new Tesla model could be playing a role in the dip in sales abroad. GM said that 2024 was its best year for EV sales ever, selling about 114,000 EVs, a 50% gain over 2023. Ford said that for least year, each of its EVs (the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and E-Transit) set sales records. Hyundai and its Kia brand have also seen EV sales surge.
And in other news……..
Rivian rolling out R2 SUV soon: Rivian has high hopes for its upcoming midsize R2 electric SUV. Starting at about $45,000, the R2 is about half the cost of its current R1S large SUV and R1T pickup models. The company says that it will be the launch pad for taking the brand to overseas sales.
CFO Claire McDonough said Rivian is “working around the clock” to expand its Normal, IL, manufacturing plant for the upcoming R2. The sourcing for R2 is now about 95% complete, and production is scheduled to start in the first half of 2026. It will be followed by the smaller R3 and sporty R3X crossover. That part will happen at its new Georgia plant. That facility will start production in 2028, McDonough said.
NACFE paper on the ‘messy middle’: The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) has released a white paper, Navigating the Messy Middle: The Move to More Sustainable Trucking.
“I liken the Messy Middle to a smorgasbord where fleets have a wide variety of options,” says Mike Roeth, NACFE’s executive director. “It can seem like an overwhelming number of choices, and we wrote this white paper to bring some clarity to the current situation.”
NACFE first began using the term Messy Middle in 2018 to describe the time between now and when trucking gets to a zero-emission future. In addition, the defining the Messy Middle, the white paper provides a brief overview of the various powertrain options available to fleets today.
