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Tesla sales hit a record in the third quarter, pushing Musk’s wealth past half a trillion

<i>Noah Berger/AP via CNN Newsource</i><br/>Tesla vehicles line a parking area at the company's Fremont

By CNN Newsource

Published October 2, 2025 9:21 am

By Chris Isidore, CNN

(CNN) — Tesla sales surged to a record in the third quarter as American buyers rushed to buy its cars before a $7,500 federal tax credit expired on September 30.

The company sold a record 497,099 vehicles worldwide from July through September, a tally just ahead of the company record set in the final three months of 2024. That’s also up 29% from the 384,122 sold in the second quarter, and up 7% from the third quarter of 2024. It was also the first quarter this year that Tesla posted a year-over-year sales gain.

But the gains might not last. The EV buyer tax credit, passed by the Biden administration in 2022, was eliminated as part of President Donald Trump’s broad spending and tax bill. Experts say the sales that took place ahead of its expiration will likely depress sales in the months ahead. And even with the third quarter spike, Tesla’s year-to-date sales are down 6% compared to the same time period in 2024.

Still the report helped to briefly lift Tesla (TSLA) shares about 2% in early trading Thursday, inching near its record high reached in December. That boosted the net worth of CEO Elon Musk to $500.8 billion, according to Forbes’ real time billionaire tracker, the first person to top the half-trillion dollar mark.

Tesla only reports global sales figures and the company does not break out sales by region. But other automakers reported a surge in US EV sales during the third quarter before the end of a tax credit for EV buyers. General Motors’ US EV sales more than doubled and Ford reported its US EV sales rose 30%. Both are records in the segment.

Despite the quarterly boost, registration data this year shows that Tesla continues to lose market share to the EV offerings of other automakers around the globe.

Part of the decline has been a backlash to Musk, whose political activities have sparked protests and criticisms in both the United States and Europe. But it is also facing greater competition, particularly by Chinese automakers gaining significant share in Europe as well as their own domestic market.

Chinese automaker BYD said EV passenger cars sales rose 31% in the quarter compared to a year ago, even though it does not sell cars in America and therefore didn’t benefit from the buying spree due to the US tax credit.

Even without any US sales, BYD is poised to overtake Tesla as the world’s largest EV maker. BYD sales so far this year stand at 1.6 million EV passenger cars worldwide, compared to Tesla’s sales of 1.2 million cars.