Tesla has announced that it has officially produced its 10 millionth electric vehicle, marking one of the biggest milestones in the company's history. The achievement was revealed in a post shared on the company's social media accounts on Thursday and comes just six years after Tesla celebrated the production of its one millionth vehicle.
The milestone also brings Tesla halfway toward one of the major performance goals tied to CEO Elon Musk's massive compensation package. Under the terms approved by shareholders last year, Tesla must produce 20 million vehicles by 2035 as one of four key targets that would unlock the full value of Musk's trillion-dollar pay package.
The other goals include reaching 10 million active subscribers for Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, deploying one million humanoid robots, and operating one million robotaxis on public roads. These objectives are designed to measure Tesla's progress beyond simply manufacturing electric vehicles.
Although reaching 10 million vehicles is a significant accomplishment, Tesla still faces a difficult road ahead. To hit its 2035 production target, the company would need to dramatically increase its annual output. In recent years, Tesla has struggled to sell more than two million vehicles annually. If production remains at current levels or slows further, analysts believe the company may not reach the 20 million mark until the early 2030s or later.
Tesla has also experienced mixed results in key markets. In the United States, the company reported a 13% year-over-year decline in vehicle sales during the second quarter. To offset weaker demand at home, Tesla has increasingly focused on expanding sales in newer markets such as Japan, Australia and Lithuania.
At the same time, competition in the U.S. electric vehicle market has changed. Several traditional automakers have scaled back their EV ambitions, while startups such as Rivian and Lucid Motors continue to face challenges in increasing production. Even so, Tesla has not been immune to slowing demand and increased pressure on pricing.
Years ago, Musk predicted Tesla would be producing 20 million vehicles every year by 2030. However, as sales growth slowed, the company quietly moved away from that timeline. Even with the revised long-term target, vehicle production remains the company’s strongest area of progress compared with its other ambitious goals.
Tesla recently reported having nearly 1.5 million Full Self-Driving software subscribers, although it remains unclear whether that figure includes users on free trial periods, which may not count toward the official target. Meanwhile, the company's robotaxis and humanoid robots are still in the early stages of development.
Financial performance also remains a challenge. To unlock the full value of Musk's compensation package, Tesla must increase its adjusted EBITDA to $400 billion by 2035. Currently, the company's adjusted EBITDA is about $3.27 billion and has declined in recent quarters due to vehicle discounts, reduced revenue from regulatory credits, and heavy investments in artificial intelligence and robotics.
Despite the hurdles, producing 10 million electric vehicles is a remarkable achievement that reinforces Tesla's position as one of the world's largest EV manufacturers. Among global competitors, China's BYD is the closest, having recently surpassed 17 million new energy vehicles produced and sold, although roughly half of those vehicles are hybrid models rather than fully electric cars.
