Tesla’s founders set out to sell “not just the best electric cars, but the best cars.” In several markets around the world, the company’s EVs have now become the best-selling cars.
In Q2 of this year, Tesla had the two best-selling cars in California by a wide margin, helping to push the market share of battery-electric vehicles to a record 21% in the state.
According to the California New Car Dealers Association’s second-quarter 2023 California Auto Outlook report, Tesla had a record quarter in the Golden State.
The best-selling vehicle in Q2 was the Tesla Model Y, which sold 74,765 units through June 2023. In second place, the Tesla Model 3 which sold 41,718. In the number-three spot was the Toyota Camry with 27,169 sales, followed by the Toyota RAV4 with 26,032.
As Tesla’s sales soared by 62% compared to Q2 2022, Toyota’s shrank by 8%. The result: for the first time ever, Tesla was the best-selling brand in California, edging out long-time front-runner Toyota. Tesla sold 69,212 cars in the quarter, while Toyota shifted 67,482.
Is this significant? Well, Toyota, maker of the Prius, has been the top-selling brand in climate-conscious California for many years. To be bested by a 20-year-old company that sells only four models highlights how far the world’s second-largest automaker has fallen behind.
“If that doesn’t light a fire under Toyota’s ass, I don’t know what will,” quipped City Dwellers’s Fred Lambert.
: City Dwellers
