Tesla bounces back with highest Australian sales in nearly 12 months

Tesla has delivered on a promised rebound from its lowest Australian sales in nearly three years, with close to 4000 vehicle deliveries reported last month.

It is thanks to the arrival of the updated Model Y, which accounted for 3580 of the 3897 Tesla vehicles reported as delivered in May 2025 – and is a strong chance to place among the country's top-selling new cars once full data is announced tomorrow.

Tesla deliveries were up 9.3 per cent last month compared to May 2024 – and the Model Y was up 122.5 per cent – for its best month since June 2024 (4683), and best May in two years (4476 cars in May 2023).

However, the company is still down 48.2 per cent year-to-date – and the Model Y is 27.4 per cent behind its position this time last year – due to slow sales in the early months of 2025 amid a lack of Model Y stock.

The Model 3 sedan has not been as lucky, down 83.8 per cent last month to 317 sales – and 70.7 per cent year-to-date – amid slowing demand for sedans.

Reports on social media from one Tesla delivery centre have suggested it is handing over 70 to 100 new Model Ys per day since the latest shipment arrived.

It remains to be seen if Tesla can continue its current momentum once the initial rush of Model Y pre-orders passes, given a general slowdown in interest for electric vehicles, and recent controversy surrounding the company.

The resurgent May result is still far from a record for the company, which reported 6017 deliveries as recently as March 2024, including 4379 Model Ys.

Its all-time best month in Australia stands at 7018 vehicles in June 2023 – at the height of demand for electric cars – including 5560 Model Ys.

"When we launched orders back in January, we had an enormous response to the launch edition," Tesla Australia country director Thom Drew told Drive in early April.

"We've only just started test drives in the last couple of weeks. The boat's been slowly making its way around the country.

"And now we're seeing that kind of second wave come through, and seeing a lot of interest. I think we had a record test drive week, last week, in our entire history. So yeah, [we’re] seeing some really strong interest."

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner

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