EV giant had the best three-month period for vehicle sales this year, but it was less than a year ago

Tesla sales still came up short relative to the third quarter of 2025, which was unusually strong for the entire electric-vehicle industry.

Tesla delivered much more electric-vehicles in the third quarter of 2026 than Wall Street had expected, sending the shares higher on Friday.

The company delivered 486,532 EVs in last quarter, roughly 5.5% more than the 461,000 sales expected by analysts, according to FactSet data. It's the second quarter in a row that Tesla (TSLA) has positively surprised the Street and marks the company's best three-month period for sales so far this year.

Compared with last year, however, Tesla's deliveries still came up short. The company delivered 497,099 EVs to consumers in the third quarter of 2025 as consumers pulled up their EV purchases to take advantage of major tax credits that were set to expire.

Tesla said it delivered 478,237 Model Y and Model 3 cars between July and September, compared with 481,166 SUVs and sedans during the same time in 2025. The cars typically account for the bulk of Tesla's sales, especially in major markets like China.

Tesla also delivered 8,295 "other vehicles," a category that is primarily made up of Cybertruck electric pickup trucks. Earlier this ear, Tesla discontinued the Model S and Model X vehicles.

Tesla shares rose 2% in recent early action on Friday.

Analysts often note that investors' give the high revenue-generating automotive business little attention, preferring to keep their eyes trained on robotaxis and other ventures. But vehicle deliveries can "create noise" on the day that they are reported, according to UBS analyst Joseph Spak.

"Investor focus is solely on the transition to a physical AI company and the stock price is driven by narrative and sentiment around future possibilities from AI ventures," Spak said in a note to clients. He also said investors are interested in a potential merger with SpaceX (SPCX), which is run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Tesla on Friday also said it deployed 13.7 gigawatt hours of energy storage products, below the 15.9 gigawatt hours expected by analysts.

After a slow start to the year, analysts had expected the energy business to heat up in the second half of 2026. Tesla's Megapacks, analysts say, are critical to meeting the demand for power driven by the U.S. buildout of data centers.

Tesla is set to report third-quarter earnings on Oct. 21.

-William Gavin