Tesla builds its 10 millionth electric vehicle

Tesla announced on July 30, 2026 that it has built its 10 millionth electric vehicle, six years after producing the one millionth.

The milestone puts the company halfway to the 20 million vehicle target that CEO Elon Musk must achieve by 2035 to unlock his $1 trillion pay package, approved by shareholders in 2025. That target is one of four core product goals tied to the compensation plan.

But Tesla has never sold 2 million vehicles in a single year, even with the growth of Model 3 and Model Y. At the current pace, reaching 20 million would take until at least the early 2030s.

Competition in the U.S. has eased as major automakers retreat from EVs and startups like Rivian and Lucid struggle. However, Tesla's domestic sales still fell 13% in the second quarter, pushing it to enter markets like Japan, Australia and Lithuania.

Musk once promised annual production of 20 million cars by 2030, a goal he abandoned as sales slowed. Of the four product goals, vehicle production is the closest to being met. Tesla reported just under 1.5 million Full Self-Driving subscribers as of July 2026, though it is unclear if free trials are counted; those would not count toward the official target. The company remains in the earliest stages of developing robots and robotaxis, the other two product goals.

He also must boost adjusted EBITDA to $400 billion by 2035. That profit figure currently hovers around $3.27 billion and has been shrinking due to heavy discounts, lost regulatory credits and increased spending on AI and robotics.

China’s BYD, for comparison, has built and sold 17 million new energy vehicles, about half of which are hybrids.