The car marker set EV sales records the past two months.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) remains the leading electric vehicle maker in the U.S. but it has rapidly been losing market share in recent months.
According to new data from Cox Automotive, Tesla’s market share plummeted to 38% in August, the lowest it has been since 2017, reported Reuters. That’s down from 42% in July and 48% in June. Its market share has been sliced in half from a high of around 79% in 2020.
The decline of Tesla has been well documented as sales have dropped in each of the past two years. This year, the sales decline has been spurred by CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration, which analysts say has damaged its brand.
The sales decline has come at a time when EV sales have been booming, as there has been a buying surge before the EV tax incentives end on September 30. The major beneficiary of the EV sales surge and Tesla’s fall has been General Motors (NYSE:GM).
General Motors set a monthly sales record in August for EV sales, selling more than 21,000 EVs last month. That topped the then monthly record it set in July with 19,000 EV sales across its family of brands.
The record sales in July and August continue the momentum for GM, which saw its EV sales in the U.S. double in the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of 2024. Its market share has risen to 15%, which comfortably makes it the second largest EV seller in the U.S. behind Tesla. Its market share rose from about 10% at the start of the year.
With the tax incentives ending, expect another blowout month for EV sales in September for GM, and that should result in strong Q3 earnings for GM. But once the EV tax incentives go away, EV sales will likely drop off, not just for GM but for Tesla and other EV manufacturers.
Is GM stock a buy?
GM does have the advantage of selling other types of cars, including gas and hybrid models, so it should be able to sustain the EV sales decline better than pure play EV makers like Tesla.
However, it remains a tough environment for automakers, due to tariffs, the expected drop in EV sales, and a difficult and uncertain macroeconomic environment.
Wall Street analysts are mixed on GM stock, due mainly to the potential headwinds mentioned above. It has a median price target of $58 per share, which suggests 2% upside.
The good news is that GM stock is dirt cheap, trading at about 8 times earnings. And long-term, GM is well positioned in the EV market. Investors might find it to be at an attractive entry price, but there is a lot of uncertainty, which for some investors could outweigh any bullish sentiment.
