Tesla Maintains Massive Lead In US Electric Car Sales

Compelling competition is coming, but Tesla is simply growing too fast.

Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y

Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Mar 18, 2022 at 9:55am ET

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According to new registration data compiled and shared by Experian, and also reported by Electrek, Tesla still holds a giant lead in the US EV market. As competing automakers bring new and compelling EVs to market, their electric car sales are growing, though Tesla is growing much more quickly, and that stands to accelerate going forward.

Tesla is in the midst of opening a new factory in Texas, as well as another in Germany. Both are already producing the brand's popular Model Y crossover, just waiting for the official start of deliveries.

CEO Elon Musk also recently noted that Tesla is considering expansion at its original factory in Fremont, California. Musk also just tweeted that he's currently working on Tesla's Master Plan Part 3, so we'll have to wait and see if that plan has anything to do with speeding up production to meet growing demand.

Tesla has been at the top when it comes to EV sales for years, and as you can see from the chart below, dominating is a very fair word to use here.

Based on the registration data used to compile the Experian report, Tesla had nearly 70 percent of the total EV market share in the US in 2021. Next in line? Nissan, with shy of 9 percent. Looking at the big EV movers in the space of late, GM, Ford, Volkswagen, Audi, Hyundai, and Kia, you can see that the 2021 US market share ranges from just over 1 percent to about 7 percent.

Some people will point out that Tesla's market share is dropping since it had 79 percent in 2020. However, there are many factors involved. More non-Tesla EVs are now available, and the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues were at play in 2021. Demand for Tesla's vehicles skyrocketed, but the automaker had been unable to keep up, thus the new factories and potential expansion efforts aim to help solve the issue.

Breaking down the numbers by state reveals that Tesla leads in every US state aside from Alaska. Nissan holds the Alaska title with about 40 percent market share to Tesla's ~34 percent.

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Experian also shared the above graphic in a related report about new light-duty EV registrations for 2021 as a whole. It comes as no surprise that California is at the top by a wide margin, and that's also where Tesla sells most of its cars in the US. Florida comes in second, though it's not a close race. Texas, the location of Tesla's newest factory, grabs the third spot, followed by the states of New York and Washington.

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