Tesla’s EV Dominance Is Fading — and General Motors Is Catching Up

TeslaTSLA

had a massive start in the EV race, but if The Tortoise and The Hare taught us anything, it’s that speed only gets you so far. Discipline matters too — and General MotorsGM

has proven that it has what it takes to compete.

Yesterday, the automaker’s shares fell more than 8% after reporting a $1.1B tariff hit to profits, despite beating earnings expectations. But black swan events aside, growing EV market share and rising profitability (on each car sold) have given investors something to look forward to.

Battle of the bottom: At the top of the EV industry, we have Tesla leading by far. But GM is quietly closing the gap. In the second quarter of 2025, Tesla commanded 46% of the US EV market share, down from 77% nearly three years ago. Conversely, GM has grown from 0.3% to 14.9% — triple the share of its next closest rival, FordF

. And two factors are helping General Motors gain ground:

• Affordability: GM has finally figured out one of the major problems plaguing the EV industry: achieving profitability on each EV sale — with GM CEO Mary Barra emphasizing “profitable electric vehicle production” to be their north star.
• Brand: The Equinox EV, which is also the third-best-selling EV in the US after Tesla’s Model 3 and Y, has become a popular model with consumers given its affordability — starting at $33.6K without government incentives and nearly a third cheaper than the average US car sold.

Tesla’s Race to Lose

While GM more than doubled its EV sales, Tesla’s momentum is showing cracks. Not only did Tesla’s sales drop 13% in Q2 2025, but its Cybertruck was outsold by GM’s Hummer EV. Meanwhile, Musk’s political stunts have sent customers to other brands, with Cadillac’s Director of Global Marketing Brad Franz seeing a sharp increase in people trading in Teslas for a Cadillac.

Shiny objects are closer than they appear: The EV industry is about to take a beating with Biden’s $7.5K tax credit ending Sept. 30, 2025. Nearly a year ago, BloombergNEF had forecasted EV sales to make up 48% of the US market by 2030. They’ve since revised it down to 27%. And despite GM finally finding its way towards a sustainable EV future, investor momentum has already moved onto the next big acronym — AVs (autonomous vehicles).