The German luxury carmaker has been hit by US import duties and growing competition in China Elon Musk’s Tesla overtook Mercedes-Benz in global sales in the third quarter of 2025, according to the two companies’ quarterly sales reports. Musk drew attention to the milestone by sharing  a post on X on Tuesday highlighting that his company had beaten the German luxury carmaker for the first time ever. Tesla sold a record 497,099 vehicles globally between July and September, slightly surpassing the