Tesla closed 2025 with weaker car sales and strong growth in its energy business. The numbers point to a company that is still selling a lot of vehicles, but is leaning more on batteries to keep its growth story alive.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Tesla built 434,358 vehicles worldwide. Most were Model 3 and Model Y, with output of 422,652 units. The rest, 11,706 vehicles came from Model S, Model X and Cybertruck.
Deliveries were lower than production. Tesla delivered 418,227 vehicles in Q4. Of these, 406,585 were Model 3/Y and 11,642 were from the S, X and Cybertruck group. A small slice of those deliveries were booked as leases, roughly 3% of Model 3/Y and about 5% of the other models.
Q4 deliveries fell compared to the same quarter in 2024. The decline was in the mid‑teens percentage range, and followed a strong Q3 that had been boosted by U.S. buyers hurrying to use a $7,500 federal EV tax credit before it expired at the end of September.
Full year 2025 vehicle results
For the full year 2025, Tesla produced 1,654,667 vehicles and delivered 1,636,129. Model 3/Y made up the bulk of this, with 1,600,767 units produced and 1,585,279 delivered. The higher‑priced group of Model S, Model X and Cybertruck accounted for 53,900 produced and 50,850 delivered.
Those totals were lower than in recent years. Tesla delivered about 1.81 million vehicles in 2023 and around 1.789 million in 2024. That puts 2025 deliveries roughly 8-9% below 2024 and clearly under the 2023 peak. It is the steepest annual decline in deliveries the company has seen so far.
The “other models” segment had the hardest hit. Deliveries of Model S, Model X and Cybertruck together dropped from 85,133 in 2024 to 50,850 in 2025, a fall of more than 40%.
Ahead of the Q4 report, Tesla published its own summary of analyst forecasts. For the fourth quarter, those analysts expected 422,850 vehicle deliveries and 13.4 GWh of energy storage deployments.
Actual deliveries of 418,227 vehicles came in about 0.8% below that delivery estimate. The energy business, however, came out ahead of expectations. Storage deployments reached 14.2 GWh in Q4, topping the 13.4 GWh figure in the consensus.
For the full year, analysts in that company‑compiled consensus projected 1,640,752 vehicle deliveries and 45.9 GWh of energy deployments. Tesla reported 1,636,129 deliveries – a shortfall of about 0.3% – and 46.7 GWh of energy storage, slightly above the forecast.
Energy storage growth
Energy storage has become one of Tesla’s strongest areas. The company deployed 14.2 GWh of storage products in the fourth quarter of 2025, setting a new quarterly record. That capped a year in which total deployments reached 46.7 GWh, up from around 31.4 GWh in 2024.
That is roughly 48% growth in one year. A few years earlier, the business was much smaller (about 7 GWh in 2022 and 14.7 GWh in 2023). In total, Tesla has now deployed more than 100 GWh of storage over its history, driven largely by its Megapack utility‑scale battery systems.
Tax credit change and rising competition
Tesla’s automotive numbers in 2025 were hit by policy changes and tougher rivals. The U.S. federal $7,500 EV tax credit for Tesla buyers ended on September 30, 2025. Many buyers brought forward purchases into Q3 to use the credit, which lifted that quarter and left Q4 weaker once the incentive disappeared.
Competition is more intense now, especially from China. BYD reported around 2.26 million battery electric vehicle sales in 2025 and about 4.6 million total vehicle sales including plug‑in hybrids. That put BYD ahead of Tesla in global EV sales.
In Europe, Tesla was under pressure as well. Reports indicate that Tesla registrations in Europe fell by roughly 39% in the first eleven months of 2025, while Chinese brands, including BYD, gained share. In North America, Tesla continues to face new electric models from established automakers and younger brands, which are competing on price, range and features.
Tesla plans to release its full financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025 after the market closes on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. The company is scheduled to hold its Q4 and full‑year earnings call that same day at 4:30 p.m. Central Time.
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