Tesla’s 2023 sales surge was strong, and its sales numbers exceeded 2022 numbers every single month of the year according to DOE data. Tesla CEO Elon Musk at Cybercab event (screenshot) - Oct. 2024In 2023, Tesla CEO Elon Musk became political and by extension so did Tesla in a way it never had been before. 2024 Tesla Model Y. - Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.As a footnote to this: It’s not yet clear whether Tesla saw sales sputter in the same way in the U.S., looking at the entire year. Tesla doesn’t report U.S.-market sales figures, which generally rely on state registration numbers and their commensurate lag.