Tesla deliveries surge 25% in Q2 as robotaxi rollout slips

Tesla beat delivery estimates by a wide margin in the second quarter, but its robotaxi ambitions remain behind schedule.

Tesla delivered 480,126 vehicles in the second quarter, up 25% from a year earlier and exceeding Wall Street estimates by more than 70,000 units, as demand recovered in Europe and China.

"The huge growth in Europe is the key driver for Tesla right now," Seth Goldstein, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said. "I think it would be very hard to see a decline for the full year at this point."

The company produced 451,758 vehicles during the quarter, with Model 3 and Model Y accounting for 442,936 deliveries. Tesla sold 89,091 China-made vehicles in June, up 24.4% from a year earlier, while European registrations rose 39% in Denmark, 56% in Sweden and more than doubled in France, according to local industry data. Energy storage deployments reached 13.5 gigawatt-hours, up from 9.6 GWh a year earlier.

The delivery beat offers a cushion for Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk's expensive push into autonomous driving and artificial intelligence, areas that underpin Tesla's roughly $1.6 trillion valuation. But the company's robotaxi rollout has slipped behind management's earlier projections, with only a limited commercial service launched in Austin in June.

The strong quarter marks a potential turning point after two consecutive years of declining EV sales. Tesla delivered 1.79 million vehicles in 2024, down 1%, and 1.63 million in 2025, a 9% drop. The recovery has been fueled by cheaper variants of the Model 3 and Model Y, surging gas prices tied to Middle East tensions, and government EV incentives in Europe.

Competition remains intense. BYD, which sells its entry-level Dolphin Surf for under $30,000 in Europe, continues to pressure Tesla in key markets. In the US, the expiration of federal EV tax credits late last year has weighed on demand, with Freedom Broker senior analyst Dmitriy Pozdnyakov estimating Tesla's US sales fell at least 10% in the quarter.

Tesla launched a limited commercial robotaxi service in Austin in June, but the rollout has been slower than Musk previously signaled. The Cybercab, a purpose-built autonomous vehicle without pedals or a steering wheel, is expected to begin production later this year. Tesla expects to spend more than $25 billion on capital expenditure in 2026, nearly triple last year's $8.5 billion, to expand AI infrastructure, Cybercab manufacturing and Optimus robot production.

Tesla shares trade at roughly 359 times trailing earnings, more than 10 times the Nasdaq-100's P/E ratio of 35.2. The stock is down about 5% in 2026 even as the S&P 500 has gained 12%, reflecting the market's skepticism about the valuation. Tesla will report full second-quarter financial results on July 22.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.