Tesla Model 3 outsells all other electric cars in US

The Tesla Model 3 electric car was the top seller in America for the first three months of 2018. The intense focus on Model 3 production figures by industry observers and competitors won’t let up just because of one-quarter year’s production, but as Jawaharlal Nehru said, “Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes.”

Tesla reported 2018 Q1 Model 3 deliveries totaled 8,180, up from 1,550 cars delivered in the last quarter of 2017. Tesla lists production numbers separately from deliveries – the company stated 9,766 Model 3s were produced in the first three months of the year.

Tesla’s Model S and Model X luxury sedan and crossover vehicles had higher reported production and delivery figures than the Model 3, but Tesla didn’t break out U.S. sales. According to the Tesla announcement, the company produced 24,728 Model S and Model X units combined in Q1 and delivered 11,730 Model S and 10,070 Model X vehicles.

According to Car Sales Base (CSB), a website that tracks car sales worldwide, Tesla sold 5,300 Model S’s, 4,400 Model X’s, and 8,180 Model 3’s in 2018’s first quarter, the last number jibing with Tesla’s quoted Model 3 deliveries total. So, according to the CSB figures, the Model 3 outsold each of Tesla’s other current vehicles.

In the same three months, according to both CSB and Bloomberg Technology, other automaker’s EV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) cars sold fewer units. Toyota sold 6,468 Prius Prime PHEVs and General Motors sold 4,375 Chevy Bolts. Chevy also moved 3,478 Volt PHEVs off dealership lots and Nissan sold a total of 2,545 Leaf EVs. First-quarter sales for Honda’s Clarity totaled 3,317 cars, but the company doesn’t break out numbers for the separate EV, PHEV, and hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) variants that share the model name.

Electric car sales figures are minuscule compared to conventionally-powered full-size pickups, compact crossover SUVs, and sedans. In March 2018 alone, Ford sold 87,011 F-150 pickups, Nissan sold 42,151 Rogue crossovers, and Toyota sold 35,264 Camry sedans – each model the best-seller in its respective category. In the coming years, however, EVs sales numbers will rise dramatically.

Tesla originally hoped to hit a 5,000 Model 3 weekly production rate by the end of 2017, but that goal slipped in steps to the end of 2018’s second quarter. Weekly Model 3 production was 2,020 cars in the last 7 days of the first quarter a rate Tesla expects to build.

With roughly 500,000 Model 3 pre-orders, the increased weekly production pace is timely. “Tesla continues to target a production rate of approximately 5,000 units per week in about three months, laying the groundwork for Q3 to have the long-sought ideal combination of high volume, good gross margin, and strong positive operating cash flow. As a result, Tesla does not require an equity or debt raise this year, apart from standard credit lines.”

Some analysts and investors had expected Tesla would need to raise up to $3 billion more in capital to continue to increase production, according to Bloomberg. According to Tesla’s announcement, however, additional capital funding is not necessary.