Tesla had a record-breaking Q3 this year thanks to the end of US subsidies

Despite the slumping sales in China and Europe, Tesla posted a record number of vehicles delivered in Q3 2025. The company saw a 7.3% year-over-year increase in shipments and beat analysts' expectations by selling 497,099 vehicles.

Of course, Model Y and Model 3 were the bulk of those, with 481,166 units sold between them. That's a healthy 9% increase over last year's third quarter. The "other models", Model S, X and Cybertruck, saw a significant drop in sales. The 15,933 deliveries represent a 30% year-on-year decline, despite the Model S and Model X getting recent refreshes.

Tesla's record sales were mainly driven by the expiring US EV tax credit, which made consumers rush to buy an EV before October 1, 2025. In fact, Tesla isn't the only company to have recorded sales for the last few months in the US. It was a nationwide trend as the home EV market represented almost 10% of all vehicle sales.

Unfortunately, the other side of that coin is an expected sales crash in Q4 after the discontinuation of the tax credit.

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