Tesla Inc's CEO Elon Musk has asserted that the company's Model Y remains the world's bestselling vehicle for the third successive year in 2025. The electric crossover has previously set several milestones, including becoming the first electric vehicle to top global year-end sales charts and earning the title of bestselling electric vehicle ever.
In a recent social media announcement, Musk proclaimed, "Tesla Model Y is now officially the world's best-selling car for the third year in a row!" The official Tesla social media account echoed this statement in a year-end video recap. However, reactions to these declarations have been mixed, with some skepticism arising from observers aware of Tesla's varying performance across international markets during 2025. This includes customer shifts away from Tesla, possibly influenced by perceptions of Musk and the availability of more affordable alternatives from Chinese automotive manufacturers.
To gain an independent perspective, inquiries were made to Grok, an AI chatbot developed by Musk's xAI firm. Grok's response indicated that Tesla's claim might be premature or inaccurate. It referenced data from Focus2Move covering sales through October 2025 and projections by Electrek, which estimated approximately 1.2 million units sold for the Toyota RAV4 compared to about 1.02 million for the Model Y.
Further dissemination of Grok's findings highlighted that the Model Y may have lost its leadership position to the Toyota RAV4 in 2024 and perhaps will not reclaim the top spot in 2025, potentially ranking third behind the RAV4 and the Toyota Corolla. Industry data from Kelley Blue Book supports the RAV4's top-selling status for 2024. Additionally, Grok's analysis suggested the Model Y's global sales declined by approximately 11% to 13% year-over-year in 2025.
Grok characterized the Model Y as "still an incredible success story" for the electric vehicle sector, yet it cautioned that forthcoming finalized data will likely confirm that the Tesla model was not the leading global vehicle seller in 2025. This contrasts with Musk's public statements and underscores the importance of awaiting comprehensive final sales figures.
Looking ahead, Tesla is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter delivery numbers later in the week. These figures will be pivotal in clarifying the annual sales volume of the Model Y and related models, as Tesla typically reports combined delivery statistics for the Model Y and Model 3. Investor Gene Munster has forecasted deliveries of approximately 415,000 vehicles for the quarter, representing a 16% decrease compared to the previous year's fourth quarter and falling short of the consensus estimate of around 449,000 units.
Munster's estimate accounts for the expiration of the U.S. federal tax credit at the end of September 2025, which likely led to a sharper drop in deliveries than previously anticipated. Notably, Tesla posted record deliveries of 497,099 in the third quarter, just before the tax credit ceased. Last year's fourth-quarter deliveries totaled 495,570 units.
The impending release of Tesla's delivery data will intensify scrutiny of the Model Y's market position and could challenge Musk's assertion of its repeated global sales dominance. How Tesla responds publicly to these data and whether Musk sustains his claims in light of independent analyses will be closely watched by industry observers and investors alike.