Tesla’s share of electric vehicle (EV) registrations in California fell to 43.9% in the first quarter of 2025. While this figure still gives Tesla a dominant lead in California’s EV market, it is down from 55.5% during the same period a year earlier.
The decline comes as overall EV sales in the state increased 35% year-over-year, while Tesla’s registrations dropped 15.1%. Despite the dip, Tesla remains the top EV brand in California, as the company’s market share is still more than four times that of its nearest competitor.
According to data from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) released on Wednesday, Tesla continues to see strong demand for the company’s vehicles, selling 42,322 vehicles in the first quarter of the year. Leading the pack was the Model Y, accounting for 23,314 registrations, which was also enough to make it the best-selling car in California, electric or otherwise.
The Model Y was followed by the Model 3 with 13,992 registrations. In a distant third and fourth were the Honda Prologue and Hyundai IONIQ 5, each with 4,493 and 3,762 registrations respectively.
As for Tesla’s other vehicles, the Cybertruck made a notable entry, coming in 8th among all EVs registered in the state during the first quarter (2,282), surpassing Ford’s F-150 Lightning (2,003).
Meanwhile, the Model X sat in 13th with 1,800 registrations. The Model S did not make it into the top 25 with just 934 registrations during the first three months of the year.
The drop in Tesla’s registrations can be attributed to a number of factors. One was the planned downtime at its factories, including in Fremont, as the company retooled production lines for a refreshed version of the Model Y. This resulted in several weeks of reduced output during the quarter. This likely led to some customers delaying their purchases in anticipation of the updated vehicle, contributing to the short-term dip.
The other reasons are the political controversy surrounding CEO Elon Musk and global supply chain pressures as the tariff war rages on. However, with the new Model Y now widely available and production capacity returning to normal levels, the company is positioned for a stronger Q2 compared to its early-year slowdown.
