From January 2021 through September 2022, Tesla deployed a staggering 132.9 GWh onto roads worldwide—more than double the 65.6 GWh deployed by its competitor BYD over the same period, according to Adamas Intelligence. In September 2022 alone, Tesla deployed 13.9 GWh of battery capacity onto roads globally versus 6.7 GWh deployed by BYD.

Source: Adamas Intelligence

In September 2022, Tesla delivered 190,255 electric vehicles globally – the company’s best month on record—but BYD delivered 192,648 electric vehicles during the same period, topping Tesla and posting its best month on record at the same time, according to Adamas Intelligence. However, 50% of BYD’s electric vehicle sales in 2022 YTD and 45% in 2021 were plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) while 100% of Tesla sales over the same period were BEVs.

From January 2021 through September 2022, BYD’s deliveries increased gradually and almost consistently month-over-month while Tesla’s deliveries—following a sawtooth pattern—increased gradually quarter-over-quarter.

Cumulatively, from January 2021 through September 2022, Tesla delivered 1.848 million electric vehicles to customers globally while BYD delivered 1.769 million.

Consequentially, from January 2021 through September 2022, Tesla consumed roughly twice as much lithium, 17-times as much nickel and four-times as much cobalt as BYD, according to Adamas Intelligence data.