The German luxury carmaker has been hit by US import duties and growing competition in China<\/p>\n
Elon Musk\u2019s Tesla overtook Mercedes-Benz in global sales in the third quarter of 2025, according to the two companies\u2019 quarterly sales reports. Musk drew attention to the milestone by sharing\u00a0a post on X on Tuesday, highlighting that his company had beaten the German luxury carmaker for the first time ever.
\nTesla sold a record 497,099 vehicles globally between July and September,\u00a0breaking a record set in the\u00a0final quarter of 2024.\u00a0Mercedes, one of the world\u2019s most valuable luxury car brands, reported on Tuesday that it had sold 441,500 vehicles, a 12% decline from the same period last year. Sales in the US and China, Mercedes’ largest markets, dropped 17% and 27%, respectively.
\nThe Tesla figure represents a 29% jump from the 384,122 units sold in the second quarter and a 7% increase compared to the same period last year. It also marked the first quarter this year that Tesla posted year-over-year growth.
\nMusk reposted a summary noting that Tesla sold 55,599, or 12.6% more vehicles than Mercedes in the third quarter. The post noted that Mercedes built its first car back in 1901, while Tesla debuted just 21 years ago, in 2004.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Musk becomes first person worth $500 billion \u2013 Forbes<\/p>\n
Mercedes blamed US President Donald Trump\u2019s import duties and rising competition in China, where domestic automakers such as BYD and Xiaomi are gaining market share with feature-packed electric cars that undercut traditional brands on price.
\nTesla\u2019s Q3 report sparked a rally in its stock last week, briefly boosting Musk\u2019s net worth to $500.8 billion, according to Forbes\u2019 real-time billionaire tracker \u2013 making him the first person ever to cross the half-trillion-dollar mark.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Trump tariffs wipe out $12 billion from global carmakers \u2013 WSJ<\/p>\n
Market experts, however, caution that Tesla\u2019s surge may be temporary. They say the jump in sales was likely driven by US buyers rushing to purchase vehicles before the expiration of a $7,500 federal tax credit on September 30. The credit, introduced under former President Joe Biden\u2019s administration in 2022, was scrapped under Trump\u2019s new spending and tax bill. Analysts warn that its removal could slow sales in the coming months. Tesla\u2019s year-to-date sales remain down 6% compared to the same period in 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The German luxury carmaker has been hit by US import duties and growing competition in China Elon Musk\u2019s Tesla overtook Mercedes-Benz in global sales in the third quarter of 2025,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t