Tesla Loses EV Crown to BYD After Second Annual Sales Drop (3)

Tesla Inc. ceded the title of world’s top seller of electric cars to China’s BYD Co., squandering a lead the Elon Musk-led company built as it popularized plug-in vehicles over the past decade.

The US automaker reported a 16% decline in fourth quarter deliveries, trailing analyst estimates. For the year, Tesla sales slid almost 9%, its second consecutive annual drop.

BYD, by contrast, increased battery-electric vehicle sales both for the quarter and the full year, delivering almost 2.26 million EVs in 2025 to Tesla’s 1.64 million.

Investors have paid little mind of late to ...