Tesla Is Reclaiming the U.S. EV Market as Legacy Automakers Retreat

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Sept. 12, 2026 9:00 pm ET | Christopher Otts

[E. Pluribus Unum]

U.S. EV sales remain depressed, but Tesla’s market share has recovered from its 2025 nadir

Elon Musk once predicted that an end to America’s federal electric-vehicle tax credit would be painful for Tesla TSLA 0.52%increase; up pointing triangle at first, but ultimately beneficial to the automaker in the long run.

He was right, at least in a relative sense.

Recent auto-sales data indicates that Tesla is once again gaining ground in the U.S. EV market as legacy automakers retreat from battery-powered cars. Musk’s company is back to comprising more than half of the U.S. EV market, with a 52% share in 2026 through August, up from 43% a year earlier, according to Motor Intelligence.

The company hasn’t escaped the wider EV downturn. Tesla’s 325,351 U.S. sales so far this year represent a 16% decline from a year earlier. However, the overall EV market has contracted more, down 30%.

Once accounting for more than 80% of U.S. EV sales, Tesla’s market share in recent years saw a multiyear slide as old-school carmakers like Hyundai, Ford and General Motors introduced their own electric models. Tesla’s share eroded to a record low of 41% in 2025 as Musk’s foray into politics and work downsizing the federal government with the Trump administration turned away some buyers and sparked protests outside its stores.

Now, the Austin, Texas, company is regaining ground, even as it has de-emphasized its core auto business. Musk canceled Tesla’s luxury Models S and X without replacements as he focuses on fully autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy
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[SmokingJoe]

Tesla sales were bound to go down a bit in 2025 from butt hurt Dems angry at Musk for backing Trump, who used to buy most Tesla's.
Now conservatives, independents etc are buying the really great Tesla EVs.
The just launched Cybercab is going to do wonders for Tesla sales.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

He can keep that ugly ass Cyber Truck.

[catnipman]

according to the stats in the article, the only reason tesla’s relative percentage of the total US EV market went up is because everyone else’s EV sales tanked; sales of Tesla EVs themselves actually tanked 16% year-over-year ...