The electric vehicle maker, led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, reported deliveries of 358,023 for the first quarter, up 6.3% from the year-ago period. Analysts had projected sales of 365,645, according to consensus figures on Tesla’s website.

Tesla reported vehicle production of 408,386, which was up 12.6% from the year-ago level.

The sales figures follow a volatile 2025 in which Tesla sales declined much of the year as the company faced increased competition in the EV market as well as consumer boycotts sparked by opposition to Musk’s far-right political stances.

But Tesla enjoyed a brief surge in sales in the third quarter, as the US phase-out of a consumer tax credit lifted sales.

Investor enthusiasm for Musk’s ambitious goals for artificial intelligence and autonomous driving has helped lift Tesla’s market capitalisation to more than US$1.3 trillion, as of Thursday morning.

That dwarfs traditional automakers like General Motors and Ford, both of which have market values under US$70 billion.

Tesla shares fell 3.4% following the release.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called Tesla’s sales figures “underwhelming,” but said the focus in 2026 was on AI and Tesla autonomous driving initiatives.