Elon Musk has declared the Tesla Model Y the world's best-selling car for the third consecutive year, but analysts question the claim based on available data. Projections for 2025 suggest the Model Y has fallen to third place behind Toyota's RAV4 and Corolla. Tesla's reluctance to disclose specific sales figures fuels the uncertainty.
On December 30, 2025, Elon Musk posted on X, congratulating the Tesla team and stating that the Model Y had become the “world’s best-selling car for the third year in a row.” This assertion builds on the vehicle's success in 2023, when it became the first electric vehicle to top global sales charts, a milestone celebrated widely in the industry.
In 2024, the Model Y was in a close contest with the Toyota RAV4, trailing by approximately 2,000 units according to some analysts. However, for 2025, preliminary data from the first three quarters and fourth-quarter projections indicate a different outcome. Independent tracking shows the Toyota RAV4 on pace for about 1.2 million units annually, up 0.6% from the previous year. The Toyota Corolla follows with an estimated 1.08 million units, down 8.1% year-over-year. The Model Y is projected at around 1.03 million units, a decline of 12.7%.
These estimates place the RAV4 firmly in first, the Corolla in second, and the Model Y in third globally. Full validation will take months, as comprehensive registration data from all markets is compiled slowly. Complicating matters, Tesla reports only combined deliveries for the Model 3 and Model Y, unlike competitors such as Toyota, which provide precise figures for individual models.
Analysts note that while a top-three ranking remains a strong achievement for an electric crossover, the lack of transparency allows for premature claims. As one observer put it, Model Y's position is impressive, but accuracy in reporting matters. Toyota's detailed disclosures, including nearly 500,000 RAV4 sales in the US alone for 2025, underscore the gap in data availability.