Tesla's sales have increased in California, with 45,953 new registrations in the second quarter, an 11.8% increase from last year. This is a significant rebound, considering the backlash to Elon Musk's involvement in the Trump administration and the axing of the EV tax credit, which had previously dealt a blow to EV sales in the state.
According to a report from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) that cites Experian data, Tesla's sales in California are doing better than in the rest of the country. The automaker's sales dropped 13.1% in the most recent quarter nationwide, according to estimates from Cox Automotive.
View Price on AmazonThe Model Y remained the top-selling vehicle of any kind in California through June, with over 54,000 units registered. It beat the No. 2 Toyota Camry by over 20,000 registrations, Experian data shows. The picture for EVs broadly in California is more mixed, with sales dropping by about 8% year-over-year in the quarter, compared to 20.5% nationally.
Market share for EVs landed at 17.8% in Q2 in California, about triple what it is nationwide and less than half a percentage point off of Q2 2025. That's well below historic highs; for the full year of 2024, EVs claimed 22% of California's car sales. Between the abundant charging infrastructure, strong base of existing EV owners, and local incentives, it makes sense that California is heading off the worst of the tax credit rug pull better than some other areas.
Still, EVs are not growing like they used to in the state, and now hybrids are taking up that mantle. Hybrid market share hit 23.2% in the second quarter. Full EVs trounced hybrids for years in California, but that may change in 2026. So far this year, Californians have bought a little over 137,000 EVs—and 191,000 hybrids. Even in America's biggest market for electric cars, it looks like it's the year of the hybrid.
Source: insideevs.com
