The battle for electric vehicles appears to be tilting comfortably in Chinese manufacturer BYD's favor as Elon Musk's Tesla cars continue to lag in sales terms, with the Chinese manufacturer reporting a nearly 28% year-to-date sales increase for December.
Tesla sold about 480,000 of its Model 3 and Y models in the third quarter and about 400,000 in the fourth quarter, according to December estimates. 1.6 million models are expected to be sold in 2026, up from about 1.79 million in 2024.
By comparison, BYD sold about 1.7 million battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in 2024 and about 2.25 million in 2025. BYD's total shipments of BEVs and plug-in hybrids in 2025 were approximately 4.6 million vehicles.
BYD or Build Your Dream offers a range of vehicles that range from compact electric city cars and hatchbacks to premium electric sedans and large SUVs and hybrid variants, as well as larger electric buses and commercial vehicles in many markets around the world.
Tesla's active customer lineup for 2026 currently consists of the Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X—sedans and SUVs in varying sizes and performance—as well as the Cybertruck in limited capacity. Future vehicles such as the roadster and low-cost robotaxi-style electric vehicles are expected, but are not yet available as mainstream sales models.
Musk, a South African-born investor and technology entrepreneur, made a high-profile entry into political debate after acquiring Twitter for $44 billion (€37.6 billion) in October 2022, which he later renamed X.
Since the takeover, Musk has increasingly used the platform to express views on immigration, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and European politics, including comments in support of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
A Yale University study published in October found that Tesla sales would have been 67% to 83% higher if not for Musk's political activities, equating to an increase of 1 million to 1.26 million in vehicle sales. The study concluded that Musk's actions also increased sales of other electric and hybrid vehicles by 17% to 22%.
Musk later publicly supported Donald Trump and Republican causes, including a $288 million (€246 million) donation to Trump-linked political committees during the 2024 election cycle, which US media cited as the largest single donation in modern presidential campaign finance.
Following Trump's return to power, Musk was appointed to lead the newly created Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), which subsequently oversaw the dismantling of USAID, the United States' premier international development and humanitarian aid vehicle.
