Tesla sales ticked up more than 7 percent in the third quarter as a federal tax credit for electric vehicles (EVs) was set to expire, reversing a significant dip in deliveries from the first half of the year.
Elon Musk’s EV maker delivered 497,099 cars in the three-month period from July to September — up 7.4 percent from the same time last year and 29 percent from the previous quarter.
The jump in sales comes as the federal EV credit, which provided a $7,500 credit for new EV purchases and leases, expired at the end of September. The credit was eliminated as part of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this year.
Tesla raised the price of leasing its cars Wednesday following the credit’s expiration, according to Reuters.
The EV maker has had a rocky year, as Musk’s government work weighed heavily on the company. Tesla became a political symbol for its CEO and his role leading controversial cost-cutting efforts at the Department of Government Efficiency.
Tesla’s stock tumbled as a result. In March, its share price was down more than 40 percent from the beginning of the year. It also saw a steep 71 percent decrease in its first quarter earnings.
Musk ultimately left the White House at the end of May, and the company’s stock has slowly recovered. This has proved fruitful for the tech mogul, who became the first person to briefly achieve a net worth of $500 billion Wednesday.
