Tesla Model Y Inches Closer to Dethroning Ford F-150 As U.S.' Best-Selling Vehicle

The Tesla Model Y is selling so well in the U.S. that it could dethrone the Ford F-150 as the long-time king of the best-selling vehicle crown.

By: Rob Stumpf

Sep 23, 2024 at 12:00pm ET

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New Tesla Model Y registrations are at an all-time high in the U.S.
It speaks to Americans finally adapting to mainstream EVs
This could be Tesla's chance to dethrone the reigning king, the Ford F-150

It sure looks like the Tesla Model Y is just a breath away from becoming America's number-one-selling vehicle. That should come as no surprise if you've been keeping an eye on the EV market. After all, the Model Y was the best-selling car in the entire world last year—just not its home market.

The latest Experian data collected by WolfStreet shows that the Model Y is coming for that title back home, too. In fact, recent sales figures put Tesla's crossover above not only the venerable Toyota Rav4 but also the crowned king: the Ford F-150.

Last year, the Model Y placed fifth in the highest sales volume by model. It was bested by the Toyota Rav4, the Ram 1500, the Chevrolet Silverado, and the Ford F-series. Mid-year sales data from KBB placed the Model Y in fourth, behind last year's top three. However, new data from Experian puts the Toyota Rav4 at the top with 2.8% of all new registrations and the Model Y nearly neck-and-neck with 2.6%—its highest share of new vehicle registrations in the U.S. ever.

You must be wondering by now how the Model Y is disrupting the status quo. The reason is simple: Tesla made a car that people actually want.

Now, sure, there's a lot of hubbub about its CEO and his current political standings. And owners are using that reasoning to consider jumping ship to new brands. But in the interim, Tesla's sales of the Model Y continue to be impactful even as a refreshed model is on the horizon and the risk of serious depreciation looms overhead.

So it's no longer just Tesla fanboys with Model Ys in the driveway. It's everyday Americans who are turning to Tesla at a time when EVs are growing in popularity enough to become mainstream. It's almost as if people aren't as spooked by range anxiety, the lack of charging stations, or the perceived brand negatives. It turns out that the Model Y just happens to fit a lot of average people's needs really, really well.

Climbing to the top is a big deal, but perhaps the most unspoken bragging right that Tesla could achieve is breaking a streak held for nearly a half-century. The Ford F-series, which includes the F-150, has been the number one vehicle sold in the U.S. for the past 42 years. The Model Y—let alone any vehicle that isn't a pickup—taking its place speaks volumes about where Americans' heads are at.

What do you think?

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Electrification? Check. An insatiable appetite for SUVs? Check. Are new truck prices going through the roof and driving away buyers? Check.

The formula is all there. All Tesla has to do is keep pumping out new vehicles without spooking away buyers with its controversial figurehead or threats of a refreshed nameplate (which is coming as early as the first quarter of 2025). If Tesla manages to dethrone the king, let's just say that it better wear that crown with pride because that's something no automaker has managed to do in decades.