Tax-credit rush powers Tesla to record Q3 — but the stock slams into reverse

Tesla just notched its biggest delivery quarter ever, then promptly got sold.

The EV maker handed over 497,099 vehicles in Q3, a sharp jump from Q2’s 384,122 and up from 462,890 a year ago. The sprint was juiced by the now-expired $7,500 US EV tax credit, which pulled a wave of buyers into showrooms ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.

Wall Street’s reaction: “sell the news.” TSLA opened at a fresh 2025 high near $470, then flipped red and slid about 4% by mid-afternoon, still riding above a fast-rising 10-day average after a multi-week run fueled by delivery hopes and self-driving optimism.

By the numbers

• Deliveries: 497,099 (new record)
  • Model 3/Y: 481,166
  • “Other” (S, X, Cybertruck): 15,933
• Production: 447,450
• Energy storage: record 12.5 GWh deployed (vs. 9.6 GWh in Q2)

US buyers who locked in firm orders by Sept. 30 can still take delivery in the coming weeks and keep the credit, but most expect a Q4 air pocket as the pull-forward fades. Tesla could lean on pricing and a stripped-down, more affordable Model Y rumored for Q4. China is typically strongest in Q4 — and tax incentives there phase down year-end — which could help overseas… and set up a tougher Q1 2026.

Even with Tesla’s record, it’s still chasing China’s BYD. BYD moved 1,114,192 EVs in Q3 (BEVs: 582,522). If Tesla’s volumes cool in the coming quarters, industry watchers think Geely could also leapfrog in overall EV sales — and possibly even in BEVs.

Elon Musk teased an “early wide” release of Full Self-Driving v14; as of Thursday it hadn’t landed, making autonomy the next big swing factor. Wedbush’s Dan Ives called Q3 a “great bounceback quarter” and keeps a $600 TSLA target, with much of that thesis hanging on FSD.

Record deliveries and a booming battery business are real wins. But with the tax-credit sugar high fading, the market wants proof Tesla can sustain demand, manage pricing, and turn the autonomy drumbeat into revenue. Circle Oct. 22 for earnings — when we’ll see how those pieces are coming together.

Investor’s Business Daily, CNBC, CNN, the Financial Times contributed to this report.