Tesla is the best-selling luxury car brand in America. Not the best-selling electric car brand (though it is that, too). But the best-selling luxury car brand.
The news comes courtesy of Kelley Blue Book parent company Cox Automotive.
Unlike most automakers, Tesla doesn’t report its U.S. auto sales. The company publishes a global sales number. But Tesla complies with laws in other countries that require it to report country-specific sales figures, which allows analysts to work backward to figure out its likely sales total in its home market. Analysts also have access to data on new car registrations and other figures that provide insight into Tesla’s sales.
Tesla reported fourth-quarter sales results this week, letting the math start.
Tesla Gets Gold, BMW Silver
Cox Automotive estimates put the figure at 352,471 for 2021. BMW – the usual leader – sold 336,644. Lexus came in third, at 304,476. Mercedes missed the podium, selling 276,102 vehicles in the U.S. in 2021.
Most of Teslas sales came from just two models – the electric automaker sold more than 190,000 Model Y SUVs and nearly 122,000 Model 3 sedans.
2021 was full of milestones for Tesla. Though it’s 19 years old, Tesla had never turned a profit on selling cars until 2021.
That isn’t shocking. It’s baked into the company’s business model. In prior years, it made more revenue from selling emissions credits to other automakers than from selling cars. It also spent freely, expanding its operations even at a loss on a gamble that it would become very profitable when it reached critical mass.
Tesla Fared Better Than Most Through Chip Shortage
The gamble may have paid off, as Tesla is now the most popular luxury car brand in the U.S.
The company has been more successful than most rivals at keeping production numbers high despite a global microchip shortage – it recently announced plans to delay future models in order to devote every chip it can get to keeping up with demand for its cars.
Tesla will be tested in 2022, as almost every automaker releases at least one new electric car, giving the now-Texas-based company competition it hasn’t faced before.
