After reaching cumulative global production of 4 million vehicles in March 2023, it was only a matter of time before Tesla hit the same figure when it comes to cumulative global deliveries.
That reportedly happened earlier this month, according to CleanTechnica‘s calculations based on Tesla data. While the automaker hasn’t officially announced the news yet, it looks like it has already surpassed 4 million cumulative sales globally.
The website worked that out by assembling data from Tesla’s previous production and delivery reports released each quarter. They found that in 11 out of the last 12 quarters, Tesla’s deliveries rose compared to the quarter before.
So for every quarter except one in the past three years, Tesla saw quarter-over-quarter sales growth. That’s impressive, and the sales chart compiled by CleanTechnica shows an almost perfect example of exponential growth. As the source article points out, it looks like the first half of the famous S-curve of disruptive technology adoption.
While Tesla’s overall cumulative sales growth looks impressive whichever way you look at it, splitting out cumulative Tesla Model 3 and Model Y sales growth is arguably even more interesting.
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The chart shows that the two core models account for more than 3.4 million of Tesla’s 4 million cumulative global sales. Splitting sales further reveals that the Model 3 accounted for almost 1.9 million sales, while the Model Y saw almost 1.6 million sales. The crossover’s performance is remarkable considering that it entered production more than two years after the sedan started rolling off the Fremont Factory’s assembly line.
Looking at the graphs, it’s clear that while Tesla Model 3 cumulative sales continued to go up steadily, it was the arrival of the Model Y and its rapid ramp-up that really kept Tesla on that overall exponential growth curve.
Data also show that the Model Y is catching up to the Model 3 fast. According to CleanTechnica‘s projections, the Model Y could surpass the Model 3 in cumulative sales by the end of 2023.
That’s astonishing seeing as how quickly the Model 3 shattered EV records and records beyond the EV industry since its launch. The Model Y looks destined for greater things, though, having ended 2022 as the world’s fourth-best selling automobile.
In April 2021, Elon Musk famously predicted the Model Y would become the world’s best-selling car in 2023, surpassing the Toyota Corolla. There’s a good chance that will happen, but we’ll have to wait until the year ends.
