American electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla has staged a significant turnaround by posting its best-ever quarterly production and delivery figures, with 447,450 vehicles manufactured and 497,077 cars delivered to customers globally between July and September – both new benchmarks for the brand.
The spike comes after the brand posted its largest quarterly sales decline in over a decade during the previous reporting period.
So on the same day that Tesla CEO Elon Musk was declared the world’s first ‘half trillionaire’ – meaning his net worth is more than $US500 billion ($A758bn) – the automaker reported record quarterly sales of nearly half a million vehicles.
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This was in part thanks to strong sales results in Australia for the updated Model Y, which was the third-best selling model outright – behind only the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger – in September.
Third-quarter sales in the US were buoyed by the September 30 cut-off for the federal government’s $7500 EV tax credit, with deliveries for the three-month period up by 7.0 per cent on the same period last year.
EV sales across the US surged 22 per cent in the quarter – largely believed to be due to news of the EV tax credit ending, which was announced as part of a federal bill brought into law on July 4.
According to Cox Automotive, EVs accounted for a record 10.0 per cent of new vehicle sales in the US last quarter, only marginally less than the 11.3 per cent share achieved in Australia last month, which was also a record.
The strong results come after a volatile start to 2025, with Tesla sales slumping around the world as Mr Musk carried out his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) role at The White House after president Trump’s January inauguration.
While that role ended in May, Tesla sales dropped dramatically in Europe over several consecutive months, with the brand also suffering slower sales in the US and Australia.
While there were calls from some employees for Mr Musk’s removal, the Tesla board remained steadfast in its public support of the CEO, pointing to model changeovers as a factor in slower sales.
It has since offered Mr Musk a record US$1 trillion ($A1.5tn) remuneration package in a 10-year deal.
Despite the turnaround in the US and Australia – where a mid-year recovery included its best sales in a year in June – Tesla saw a 43 per cent sales slide in Europe in the first eight months of 2025, despite EV sales rising by 25 per cent there.
The Model Y remains Australia’s top-selling EV, with a recent upgrade including a new Long Range version offering up to 750km of WLTP range, the most of any EV in local showrooms.
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