Tesla’s recovery slows – quarterly sales decline again, but not much

Tesla sales were lower at the end of the third quarter than a year earlier, when U.S. consumers were scrambling to take advantage of federal tax breaks to buy electric vehicles as they were about to expire. However, the manufacturer’s results beat Wall Street expectations and showed that the recovery is continuing.

Image source: tesla.com

Between July and September 2026, Tesla produced a total of 464,391 vehicles, including 457,387 of the most popular Model 3 and Model Y, and 7,004 “other models”, including Cybertruck, Cybercab and Tesla Semi, including the Model S Model S Model S Model S Model and S Model Semi, which were discontinued. Compared with the 447,450 vehicles rolling off the assembly line in the third quarter of 2025, this is an increase of approximately 3.8%.

Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles to customers, including 478,237 Model 3 and Model Y and 8,295 other models, a 2.1% decrease from the 497,099 deliveries in the third quarter of 2025. The company operates on a direct sales model, so supply reflects actual numbers.

The sales decline was expected: On September 30, 2025, the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicle purchases in the United States expires. Due to this and other macroeconomic factors, CEO Musk warned that the company faces “some challenging quarters.” But he expressed confidence that the company will regain its status as it implements plans in the field of artificial intelligence, including robotaxi projects and humanoid robots.

At the end of the second quarter, the company reported a 25% year-over-year sales increase — when analysts expected sales of 463,000 vehicles. For the third quarter, they agreed with their forecast of 461,974 vehicle deliveries – a forecast that Tesla easily beat. Tesla is currently facing difficult times, but it has revived its Semi and Cybercab projects, resumed sales in Europe, and successfully increased its share of the U.S. electric vehicle market. On the other hand, the release of the new generation Roadster has been delayed again, and federal authorities have launched an investigation into Cybercab.