Did you ever think you’d live to see the day when electric vehicles would begin outselling all of their polluting competition? Well, if you live in places like Norway or California, that day is today.
CleanTechnica is now reporting (based on data from the California New Car Dealers Association) that the Tesla Model 3 managed to outsell its cheaper gas-powered rivals Civic, Camry, Corolla, and Accord for the first time.
These popular Japanese sedans are much more affordable and widely available than the Tesla Model 3, so seeing EVs take the top spot before battery day is extremely impressive. In many places the EV transition is happening much faster than expected. Yes, the pandemic hurt legacy auto more than it hurt Tesla –– but this is still a watershed moment. It’s the first time an EV has taken the top spot, but it won’t be the last.
But what’s more impressive is that the Tesla Model 3 took the top spot with $0 in federal incentives while other EV competitors still qualified for up to $7,500. Those who claim Tesla only exists because of subsidies would do well to take note of these developments. Tesla CEO Elon Musk remarked on this fact in a reply to CleanTechnica on Twitter:
Congratulations to Tesla and everyone who poured this blood, sweat, and tears into the Model 3 on this amazing accomplishment. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing this kind of story more and more often as Tesla unveils their Battery Day plans to scale battery production beyond the point where EVs become more affordable than polluting cars.
Read the full story on CleanTechnica