Tesla Produces Its 10 Millionth Electric Vehicle

Tesla says it has produced its 10 millionth electric vehicle, six years after reaching the one-million mark. The milestone reflects the scale created by the Model 3 and Model Y, but it also arrives as the company's growth slows in the United States and competition strengthens abroad.

The total places Tesla halfway toward a production objective tied to Elon Musk's compensation package. By 2035, the company must build 20 million vehicles, reach 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions, deliver one million robots and operate one million robotaxis for Musk to unlock all product-related portions of the award.

Vehicle production is the target closest to completion. Tesla has not yet sold two million cars in a single year, and U.S. sales fell 13% from a year earlier in the second quarter. The company has sought growth in markets including Japan and Australia while using discounts that have put pressure on earnings.

The other goals remain much further away. Tesla recently reported fewer than 1.5 million Full Self-Driving subscribers and is still in early stages of robot and robotaxi manufacturing. Musk must also lead the company to $400 billion in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by 2035, compared with a current quarterly level near $3.27 billion.

BYD provides the clearest comparison, having produced about 17 million new-energy vehicles, roughly half of them hybrids. Tesla still holds a distinct position in fully electric vehicles, but manufacturing leadership is no longer uncontested. Future milestones will be measured against faster-growing Chinese producers as much as against Tesla's own history.

The milestone also provides a measure of manufacturing learning. Tesla moved from a niche roadster to several high-volume models, built factories across continents and pushed direct software updates into the center of vehicle ownership. The next phase may be harder because EV competition is broader and growth depends on more price-sensitive buyers. Production totals will matter less than utilization, quality and profit per vehicle. A company can reach an impressive cumulative number while still facing weak demand in a particular quarter, so the celebration should not substitute for current operating evidence.

Producing 10 million vehicles is a genuine industrial achievement. It does not by itself resolve the gap between Tesla's mature car business and the much larger promises embedded in its valuation and executive incentives. The next 10 million will require steady demand, not only expanded capacity.