Tesla Inc. has long been regarded as the brand that put electric cars on the global map. Though it wasn’t the first nor the only electric car brand, Tesla achieved astounding success early in the journey. With a crucial role played by the early adopters, Tesla has managed to stay afloat and accumulating profit at every turn.
However, now that we are in the new year of 2026, there have been reports of global electric car sales that suggest Tesla has been beaten by the Chinese EV brand, BYD. Yup, a Chinese brand that most Indian have never even heard of has taken the crown from Tesla by the might of sheer sales volume.
What’s up with Tesla?
Unfortunately, 2025 hadn’t been kind to Elon Musk and Tesla Inc., with the owner’s involvement in American politics taking a toll on the company’s sales. Early 2025 saw a massive boycott of the Tesla vehicles, leading to a stock value drop of over 8% in July 2025. While the company attributed it to the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits, it was likely a cumulative of multiple factors.
What’s more is that this is the second consecutive year where Tesla’s sales have dropped, and in 2025 alone, it faced a 8.6% decline.
Tesla's fourth-quarter figures come after third-quarter deliveries were supported by a rush to lock in $7,500 in federal tax credits after President Donald Trump's administration decided to pull the plug on the incentive in September.
In the U.S., EVs accounted for 6.2% of retail vehicle sales in the quarter, down 3.6 percent from a year earlier, while average transaction prices rose nearly $6,000 to $53,300, according to J.D. Power data.
Tesla reported October-December quarter sales number of 418,227 units, which meant a 15.6% decline from 495,570 a year earlier. For the entire year, Tesla delivered 1.64 million units, which did not come as a surprise, since Tesla has struggled to compete in the EU market and U.S. EV policy has come to an end, leading to lower sales number.
BYD Takes the Crown
BYD, on the other side of the world, reported a massive surge in global sales in 2025. With a 28% YoY growth, BYD has registered a sales volume of 2.25 million units, which is 610k more than Tesla in the same period.
This is the same brand that Elon Musk openly dismissed by laughing at their products during a 2011 Bloomberg interview. He said he did not see the company as a competitor to Tesla, adding: “Have you seen their car? … I don’t think they have a great product.”
That was 14 years ago, and look who is laughing now.
BYD is currently the largest EV brand in China, which is the largest market for EVs in the world. BYD has also managed to penetrate the European market, gaining popularity with affordable pricing and exhilarating performance. Even with import duties, BYD has managed to match the prices of its biggest competitors in EU.
Meanwhile, Tesla has started to lose its footing in its domestic market as well, especially with Rivian and Lucid stepping up their game. In comparison, BYD has been making major strides in technology and innovation, with faster charging and better battery tech.
So what do we learn from this?
Tesla has undoubtedly had some amazing years, reporting massive growth every year up until 2 years ago. But all it took was one slightly bad year for their biggest competitor to take the crown. BYD has been steadily growing in the shadows, unseen by the major populace of the world, as they dominated China’s market and slowly spread all over the world.
So what do we learn? Well, this is the greatest underdog story of all time. Instead of focusing on the competitor, BYD chose to improve their products, improve their tech, improve in every way possible till they became the best EV company in the world.
BYD also wins by sheer number of vehicles they offer, as opposed to Tesla’s very limited offerings. BYD currently has multiple sub-brands as well, including the FangChengBao, Denza, Yangwang, and more.
Tesla is currently looking at AI-driven models, like Optimus, Robotaxi, and physical AI. On the other hand, BYD already makes all kinds of commercial vehicles, from taxis to buses to trucks.
So, really, BYD is already on a different scale than Tesla, and it was only a matter of time before BYD took over.
