Skip to main content
Accounting

Tesla revenue drops 12% year over year

With an expiring EV credit and more competition from other automakers, Tesla is feeling the heat.

Tesla hood decal in the rain

Nurphoto/Getty Images

less than 3 min read

Witness the future of finance at FloQast TakeControl 2025. Join leaders in finance, accounting, audit, risk, and compliance Sept. 17–18 as they meet to learn from experts. Access cutting-edge AI strategies and practical solutions needed to stay ahead in an ever-changing industry. Join the virtual conference.

You probably won’t see Elon posting about this news much.

Tesla’s total revenue fell for the second straight quarter, coming in at $22.5 billion, slightly less than the $22.6 billion–$22.7 billion analysts forecast. This represents a 12% YoY revenue drop, down from $25.5 billion a year ago.

Tesla—and Musk—have had a rocky 2025. At the beginning of the year, the company seemed poised to reap the benefits of President Trump’s favor as Musk palled around with the president as head of the “Department of Government Efficiency.”

But the happy days didn’t last long—Trump and Musk fell out earlier this summer, and Tesla’s customer base soured on Musk’s involvement with Trump. Now the blowback is showing up in Tesla’s balance sheet; deliveries fell 13% YoY. And there are more sales challenges on the horizon: Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” cuts the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles at the end of September, making the company’s vehicles more expensive to buy.

On the earnings call, Musk pointed to the expiring EV credit as a factor that could hurt future Tesla sales, warning that the company “probably could have a few rough quarters.”

Even with the incentive to buy an EV before September 30, Tesla’s vehicle deliveries dropped in the second quarter as EV buyers looked to other, more affordable (or less controversial) brands.

CFO Vaibhav Taneja signaled Tesla would increase production of its more affordable model for the post-EV credit era. Tesla has been flirting with a cheaper EV for years, and started production in June. The company is also looking into other delayed projects like the Tesla Semi and its Cybercab robotaxi, which has started a limited pilot with human chaperones in Austin, Texas.

As for Musk’s frenemy, Trump posted on Truth Social that he isn’t trying to destroy Tesla and that he wants “Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to thrive, in fact, THRIVE like never before!”

We’ll see if that warrants a tweet from Elon.

News built for finance pros

CFO Brew helps finance pros navigate their roles with insights into risk management, compliance, and strategy through our newsletter, virtual events, and digital guides.