Tesla reports decline in sales in the third quarter amid a weak US electric car market

In the USA, the market for electric cars is literally collapsing. Sales fell by almost a third in the first eight months. Tesla cannot escape the trend, but it loses less. Sales are stagnating worldwide. Internally, however, the focus is shifting.

The car manufacturer Tesla sold significantly fewer vehicles in the summer, but held up more than bravely given the slump in the US market for electric cars. The company sold 486,532 electric vehicles worldwide between July and the end of September - two percent less than a year ago. The results still exceeded analyst expectations. The share price rose slightly before the trading session. The third quarter of the previous year was characterized by a special economic situation: US President Donald Trump allowed the tax break of $7,500 for the purchase of electric cars to expire at the end of September 2025. This led to early purchases.

The decline reverses two quarters of growth in the first half of the year. Most of the cars sold were the popular Tesla Model Y and Model 3, which start at between $37,000 and $40,000. The carmaker has discontinued its Model S and Model X luxury vehicles, which it sold for around $100,000. Sales from the existing inventory of these cars as well as the Cybertruck stainless steel pickup truck totaled 8,295 deliveries in the third quarter, which is less than two percent of total sales.

Tesla's sales decline comes amid a broader downturn in the U.S. electric vehicle market. Most other automakers have reported sharp declines in sales of their electric models this year. In August, Tesla regained its dominance in the US market, accounting for more than half of all electric vehicle sales in the US. Tesla's U.S. sales in the first eight months of the year were 16.2 percent below the same period last year, according to data from Motor Intelligence. This compares favorably with total electric car sales in the U.S., which fell 30.4 percent over the same period.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the company is pivoting its business away from vehicle sales to focus on robotaxis and humanoid robots, none of which are currently for sale. Still, car sales accounted for 70 percent of Tesla's revenue in the first half of the year. Energy and regulatory credits and other services accounted for the rest.

In September, Tesla introduced its new Cybercab, a special robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle is available for rides via the Tesla Robotaxi app in Austin, Texas, Tesla's headquarters. The company aims to sell cybercabs to individuals for $30,000 by the end of the year, although some analysts doubt the timeline because of regulatory and technological hurdles.

On October 15, Tesla is also scheduled to unveil its new Roadster, a new edition of its original sports car, which Tesla previously said would cost from $200,000. Musk has said the Roadster will be his last new vehicle with controls for human drivers. Some Tesla fans have been waiting for the vehicle for years, having made five- and six-figure deposits when the car was first announced in 2017.