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This study reported a pressure-induced metallization for molybdenum tellurium under different pressure environments up to ∼25.9 GPa through a series of experiments and first-principles theoretical calculations. This metallization was closely related to the gradual closure of bandgap rather than the structural phase transition. Under the non-hydrostatic environment, the metallization point was ∼12.5 GPa and irreversible, while it occurred at a higher pressure of ∼14.9 GPa and was reversible under the hydrostatic environment. We ascribed these discrepancies to the strong deviatoric stress, which reinforced the Te-Te interactions and caused the permanent plastic deformation of the interlayer spacing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]