“What happened to all the Tesla killers that legacy press and hedge fund short sellers predicted were coming?” Elon Musk posted on X on Monday—pointing to Tesla’s continued dominance in the U.S. EV market.

This was in reaction to a post showing Tesla sold 117,300 EVs in the U.S., ahead of roughly 99,000 electric vehicles from all other automakers combined—an outright majority of the market.

But step outside the U.S., and the picture changes quickly.

The numbers are hard to ignore.

Tesla’s 117K vehicles stack up against roughly 99K from the rest of the market combined, giving it about 54% market share in the U.S.

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Legacy automakers—and the much-hyped “Tesla killers”—aren’t just trailing. They’re collectively behind.

That’s the backdrop to Musk’s jab. And on home turf, it holds.

Step outside the U.S., and a different rival comes into focus: BYD Co., Ltd..

On a pure EV basis, the race is tight. In the first quarter this year, Tesla reportedly delivered 358,023 vehicles, compared to 310,389 reported by BYD. Including hybrids into the equation, BYD sold 688,993 vehicles in the first quarter this year. That’s almost 2x Tesla.

But that’s only part of the picture.

Include plug-in hybrids—and the gap widens dramatically.

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In 2025, Tesla delivered 1,636,129 vehicles, all fully electric. BYD, combining EVs and hybrids, sold 4,602,436 vehicles.

That’s nearly three times Tesla’s scale globally—a gap that’s hard to ignore.

Musk’s comment was aimed at legacy automakers—and on that front, he’s winning.

But globally, the competition isn’t Ford Motor Company or Volkswagen AG. It’s BYD.

And BYD isn’t trying to beat Tesla at its own game. It’s playing a broader one—spanning both EVs and hybrids, and dominating the world’s largest auto market in China.

The result is a split reality.

Musk may be right to toast Tesla’s dominance at home. But globally, the race looks very different—and much bigger.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

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