It's official: Tesla has lost the EV crown to China
- BYD's sales surpassed Tesla's for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2023.
- China's BYD has been nipping at Elon Musk's heels all year.
Tesla has officially lost its title as the world's top seller of electric cars.
BYD, a Chinese automaker, delivered 526,409 cars in the fourth quarter of 2023, easily surpassing Tesla's 484,507, reported Tuesday morning. Still, Tesla's sales topped the roughly 476,000 analysts had expected.
The moment is a massive turning point for Warren Buffett-backed BYD after nipping at Elon Musk's heels for the latter half of 2023.
It signals the next stage in the long-awaited Chinese takeover of the electric vehicle segment. Companies like BYD have made huge strides in quality and affordability that could aid them in entering the US market. Meanwhile, US-based brands are losing popularity among buyers in China.
BYD sells the vast majority of its vehicles in China.
Tesla has been losing its chokehold on the electric-vehicle market for much of the past year as more rivals enter the space and customers have more options. This has led to a series of price cuts in the US and China that cut into Tesla's profits.
Despite a turbulent year for the electric vehicle maker, Tesla succeeded in hiring Musk's goal of 1.8 million vehicle deliveries for the year.