The Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD is expected to surpass Tesla as the world’s biggest seller of EVs for the 2025 calendar year. This is quite a development for the Chinese carmaker, which was dismissed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk 15 years ago in 2011.
In an announcement, BYD reported a nearly 28% increase in battery-powered car sales, reaching 2.26 million units in 2025. Meanwhile, Tesla is estimated to make 1.6 million deliveries, representing an 8% decline from 2024 and the second consecutive annual drop.
The real issues for Tesla cropped up in the first quarter of 2025 when its stock price fell due to strong competition from China and controversy surrounding Elon Musk’s political rhetoric, with him alienating many of the customers who had previously purchased a Tesla, affecting future sales.
Tesla’s share price has recently hit an all-time high of $489.99 driven by progress it has been making in driverless vehicle testing, such as fully autonomous tests in Austin, Texas. What we will have to look out for now is whether this news that it has been eclipsed by BYD will make any impact on its share price.
Even with this shift, Tesla still remains the main electric vehicle firm in the United States, and geopolitically, if things go south between China and the US, it could be more difficult for people in Europe and the US to buy a BYD vehicle, shaking things up yet again.
Another important factor to keep in mind is that Tesla is trying to move past just being an electric vehicle company. It is now pivoting to robotics, but it still needs to prove itself in this sector. Elon Musk is attempting to develop humanoid robots that will be capable of physical work, with businesses in a better position than the average consumer to place big-figure orders for such machines.