Over-Hyped Tesla Now Faces a Whole New Challenge From GM's Chevy Bolt

As if funding and production capacity weren't big enough concerns for Tesla (TSLA) in 2017, September auto sales numbers seem to paint an even more challenging picture for the electric vehicle maker.

In the U.S., Tesla sold only 115 Model 3s in the month of September, whereas GM (GM) , which just truly entered the market in 2016, sold 2,632 Chevy Bolts. For the entire third quarter, Tesla sold just 220 Model 3 units, while Chevy cruised to the sale of 6,000 Bolts.

Overall, Tesla delivered a record 26,150 vehicles in the third quarter, with the company's legacy Model S selling an impressive 5,000 units in September alone.

But with just 5% sales growth sequentially and a big miss on both the sales and production targets for the Model 3 -- a unit that MSRPs at a markedly cheaper rate than Tesla's other models in an effort to reach a broader consumer base -- it appears Tesla may have some new growing pains to contend with.

For a company that has been working with a double-digit negative operating margin long before any significant competition entered the electric vehicle market, there isn't much room for a bit of healthy rivalry.

Of course, Tesla bulls would argue that comparing the Chevy Bolt to the Tesla Model 3 is not exactly apples to oranges. After all, with the Model 3, for $35,000, you wind up in a much more stylish vehicle, likely boasting far more advanced features (including some form of autonomous driving capability), than you would paying $36,620 for the 2017 Chevy Bolt.

But the early success of GM's Chevy Bolt, sales of which grew 49% sequentially, does hint at a dilemma for Tesla: Traditional U.S. automakers may be preparing to go full-swing on EVs, and in theory, they have the production capacity, U.S. sales channels and infrastructure to quickly derail Tesla's hopes for success on a broader scale.

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