Tesla reported a surprise increase in sales in the third-quarter as the electric car maker likely benefited from a rush by consumers to take advantage of a $7,500 credit before it expired on Sept. 30.
The company reported Thursday that sales in the three months through September rose 7% compared to the same period a year ago.
The gain follows two quarters of steep declines as people turned off by CEO Elon Musk's foray into right-wing politics avoided buying his company's cars and even protested at some dealerships.
Sales rose to 497,099, compared with with 462,890 in the same period last year.