Australia’s in love with Elon again

Tesla has cast aside owner Elon Musk’s myriad controversies and concerns Aussies drivers are going cold on EVs to return to its glory days of just 12 months ago.

Tesla has cast aside owner Elon Musk’s myriad controversies and concerns Aussies drivers are going cold on EVs, to post its best sales records in a year.

It appears Australia has fallen back in love with Tesla, with the company hitting a 12-month sales high in June.

According to figures released by the Electric Vehicle Council, Tesla delivered 4589 cars last month. Their highest figures since they moved 4683 units in June 2024.

The updated Model Y ‘Juniper’ was the key source of Tesla’s spike in sales: 3457 Model Ys were sold in June, underscoring how well the revamped version of the world’s most popular EV has been received. 1132 Model 3s were sold on top of that.

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Tesla has enjoyed its best Aussie sales figures in a year. Picture: Getty

The Electic Vehicle Council only publishes figures for Tesla and Polestar, who have quit Australia’s main car lobby the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

FCAI released their figures Thursday, showing the dominance of utes at the top of Aussie sales and the rocketing popularity of China upstart BYD.

The EVC said Tesla’s sales figures for the Model Y were up almost 19 per cent compared to June last year but are down 17 per cent year-on-year. The June figures for the Model Y were down on the 3580 cars moved in May and below their peak of 4379 for March last year.

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2025 Tesla Model Y. Picture: Mark Bean

With improved Model 3 June sales, up 1115 from May, lifting Tesla to its 12-month high, indicating the new Model Y might have had a halo effect on Telsa’s other car sales.

“Australians are increasingly voting with their wallets by buying EVs,” EVC chief executive Julie Delvecchio said before the release of FCAI’s June figures.

“So far this year EVs have accounted for more than 11 per cent of new vehicles sold which is a new record in this country, and some 17 per cent higher than the same period last year. “This increase is all the more astonishing given the premature withdrawal of state government incentives that would have helped thousands more working families unlock the savings from going electric.”

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Tesla Model 3. Photo: Camber Collective

However overall Tesla’s deliveries are down 39 per cent year-on-year.

In contrast, Polestar’s sales are up 23.6 per cent year-on-year but still well down on volume compared to Tesla.

Polestar sold 339 cars in June 2025, taking their total sales for the year to 1173, not even 10 per cent of Tesla’s 14,146.

Polestar 2 sold 135 units in June, Polestar 3 moved 135 units, Polestar 3, 30 cars and Polestar 4 174 cars.

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2025 Polestar 4 electric car. Photo: Supplied

CEO Musk and by association Tesla has copped plenty of heat for the billionaires political moves in recent times. While Telsa itself is facing increasing competition in the EV space from Chinese car makers.

On Thursday, Musk celebrates figures from Norway which revealed 97 per cent of cars sold in the Scandinavian country in June were EVs.

“As goes Norway, so goes the rest of the world,” Musk wrote on X.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Picture: AP

“Combustion engine cars will be like the steam engine – quaint, but primitive.”

Originally published as Australia’s in love with Elon again