Tesla Model Y Set to Take Top Spot as World's Best Selling Car in 2023

By Kevin Armstrong
The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are in the Top 10 vehicles sold worldwide
The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are in the Top 10 vehicles sold worldwide
Tesla

Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, once said, "I say something, and then it usually happens. Maybe not on schedule, but it usually happens." In April 2021, Musk predicted that the Model Y would be the world's best-selling vehicle. He wasn't sure if it would happen in 2022, but he was confident the electric SUV would take the global crown from Toyota's Corolla in 2023.

Moving on Up

According to a report from Focus to Move, the Model Y is now the fourth best-selling vehicle worldwide after an astonishing 88 percent jump from 2021 to 2022. There were 759,000 Model Ys sold last year, just 28,000 units behind the third-place Ford F-150 which has been the best-selling truck for the previous 46 years. Toyota claimed the top two spots, with the RAV4 at 870,000 and the Corolla selling 1.12 million.

The runway is clear for the Model Y to vie for the world's best-selling car title in 2023. There are three critical elements to achieve the goal: capacity, demand and competition.

Capacity

First, capacity. To reach the top spot, the Model Y will need to increase its sales by approximately 60% compared to 2022, which is a very achievable goal, considering both the Giga Texas and Giga Berlin factories aim to produce 500,000 cars per year. During Tesla's Q4 earnings call, Elon Musk said Tesla plans to produce about 1.8 million vehicles in 2023, up about 37% from 2022. Musk later added that Tesla may be able to reach 2 million vehicles in 2023, which would be an increase of 52% over its 2022 numbers.

Demand

Second, demand is there. In the wake of the recent price drops, Bank of America predicts Tesla's volume to jump 53 percent, up from its original forecast for 17% growth. Also, Musk said during the fourth quarter earnings call that the company is receiving the most orders year to date in its history. Plus, the price tag of the Model Y and Model 3 is now very close. As a result, many buyers may consider getting into the slightly larger Model Y over the Model 3.

Competition

Thirdly, the competition. Toyota's Corolla is half the price of the Model Y. Therefore, to grab the top spot in the world, the Corolla will have to come down a few pegs. As the manufacturer is playing catch up on the EV market, perhaps the bZ4X will take away from Corolla's typical buyers.

Top 5 Cars Sold Worldwide

Below is a list of the top 5 vehicles sold worldwide, as compiled by Focus2Move. It's not clear whether Focus2Move includes used cars in their figures or if they include sales for vehicles that have yet to be delivered.

Model Units Sold Pct Change
1. Toyota Corolla 1,120,000 -2.2%
2. Toyota RAV4 871,220 -13.7%
3. Ford F-Series 786,303 -8.8%
4. Tesla Model Y 758,792 +88.5%
5. Toyota Camry 676,845 -2.7%

Tesla Software Update 2025.8 -- The Undocumented Changes

By Not a Tesla App Staff
Not a Tesla App

With most vehicles moving on to Tesla’s 2025.14 Spring Update, we’re now taking a look at all the undocumented features that were discovered during Tesla’s 2025.8 update.

While these features tend to be smaller in nature, some of them are just as valuable as the features outlined in Tesla’s release notes in the vehicle.

This update includes changes such as improvements to maps, trip meters, and Rainbow Road. Let’s take a look at all the undocumented features in Tesla’s 2025.8 software update.

New Map Icons

Not a Tesla App

Icons on the map are being redesigned to be rounder and easier to see. They now feature a white border to make them pop out against a colorful background, which is especially better when using satellite views.

This feature started rolling out slowly but should now be available to everyone.

Trips & Odometer

Not a Tesla App

The Trips display has been improved to show more precise information, and a new metric has been added.

More Precision: The trip meters will now show values with a tenths place when they’re under a certain value. That means that the Current Drive and Since Last Charge trip meters will now show a fractional kWh and a mile. This is especially useful for Current Drive.

The Current Drive meter is automatically reset when your vehicle comes out of park so that it can track your current drive, while the Since Last Charge meter automatically resets after a charging session completes.

More Data: In addition to added precision, the Current Drive now features a new data point. kWh is now shown for the current drive, just like the other trip meters. Previously, the Current Drive showed minutes instead of kWh -- it now features both.

These changes affect the Trips widget in the Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck. While the added precision is also added to all vehicles under Controls > Trips, the new kWh metric for the Current Drive is only displayed in the small widget.

Additional Tool Tips

Not a Tesla App

Tesla has added some additional tips to the screen that show up in certain cases. For example, if you’re playing audio over Bluetooth, Tesla will suggest that you use their built-in music apps instead of streaming through your phone.

Destination Charging

Not a Tesla App

Destination charging icons are now visible on the map when you have Points of Interest enabled. You can enable Points of Interest by tapping on the map and choosing the Points of Interest icon on the right side near the satellite imagery icon.

Some destination chargers may charge a fee, while others may be open to the public or exclusive to paying customers.

Navigation Improvements

Not a Tesla App

If you're using Tesla's navigation system with voice guidance enabled, the spoken directions will now stop immediately when you end the trip. Previously, the spoken directions would continue being played until the phrase was completed.

Improved Rainbow Road

Not a Tesla App

The rainbow road feature has been greatly improved in this update with FSD. Rainbow road, which can be enabled in the Toybox app, now changes the vehicle's path when on Autopilot from a blue path to a rainbow one.

Previously, Tesla had to overlay the blue path on top of the rainbow colors because rainbow road didn’t support all the features of the path, such as showing chevrons when slowing down rapidly.

With this update, the rainbow path now incorporates all the same features as the blue path when FSD is active.

In addition, if you start Rainbow Road by tapping the right stalk four times, audio will play. Unfortunately, the sound couldn’t be stopped until it was completed before, but with this update, you can now stop the audio by reducing the volume with the left scroll wheel.

Additional Transparency Effects

Not a Tesla App

On Intel vehicles, several modules didn't include a transparency effect. This was primarily due to Intel cars not using the blur effect since it could slow down the infotainment unit.

With this update, Tesla has enabled the transparency effect across a set of modules. Notably, this fixes the issue when using full-screen visualizations where the music player had transparency, but the navigation module on the right did not.

Transparency has also been added to other modules that are displayed over the map, such as the list of Superchargers, destinations, search results, and the ETA / End Trip module displayed at the bottom.

Note: Due to the lack of the blur effect on Intel due to performance reasons, these changes could make some text more difficult to read.

No Phone Key Graphic

Not a Tesla App

The graphic that's displayed in the vehicle when it doesn't detect a phone key has been updated. Tapping on the blue text at the bottom displays the old animation showing you where to tap a key card.

Bluetooth Player

Not a Tesla App

The Bluetooth app typically only displays the connected devices and a button to connect a new device. There was a lot of white space, since there wasn’t much other information to display.

With this update, Tesla is making it easier to jump to another source by displaying available music streaming services underneath the connected Bluetooth device.

Tapping a music service will jump to the selected service.

Service Mode Release Notes

@scotsrule08 on X

As with most Tesla updates, Tesla usually adds or improves Service Mode with additional features, making diagnosing and fixing problems easier. This update adds or improves the following items.

New HVAC Panel

A new HVAC panel is available to support HVAC system diagnosis. It adds the ability to determine the status of the HVAC actuators, HEPA filter, and blower motor.

Applies to: Cybertruck

HV Battery Panel Update - Moved State of Health (SOH) Routine

The State of Health (SOH) routine in the HV Battery panel has been moved to the Controls > Service tab, which does not require entering Service Mode or Service Mode Plus.

Applies to: 2021+ Model S, 2021+ Model X, Model 3, Model Y

Windows Panel Update - Rear Defrost Routine

The rear defrost component on the Windows panel has been updated to simplify diagnostics. The re-enable routine will now be visible all the time, but it can only be ran when a condition requiring its usage is detected.

Applies to: 2021+ Model S, 2021+ Model X, Model 3, Model Y

Seats Panel Update - Cabin Radar and Seat Sensor

The Seats panel has been updated to show whether the cabin radar and/or seat sensor is being used to detect occupants in the front seats.

Applies to: Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck

Brakes Panel Update - Update Gateway Configurations

The gateway configurations for brake hardware type and caliper color can now be updated on the Brakes panel.

Applies to: Model 3 (2017-2023), Model Y (2020-2024), Model S (2021+), Model X (2021+)

Steering Panel Update - Update Gateway Configurations

The gateway configuration for the steering column motor type can now be updated on the Steering panel.

Applies to: Model 3, Model Y

Service Mode Update - Media Source Switches to Bluetooth

When entering Service Mode, the Media Source will now automatically switch to Bluetooth to prevent the vehicle from playing media using the customer's connected media accounts.

Applies to: Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y

Charging Panel Update - Charge Port ECU Reset Routine

The Charge Port Electronic Control Unit (ECU) reset routine, TEST-RESET_CP, has been added to the Charging panel, which may be required after performing Charge Port related service.

Applies to: Model 3, Model Y, Palladium S, Palladium X, Cybertruck

Noise Recording Panel Update - Moved to Tools

The Noise Recording panel has been moved from the the High Voltage panel to the Tools panel. To access the panel, tap Tools > Noise Recording.

Applies to: Cybertruck

Coolant Panel Update - Coolant Purge Status Indicator

An indicator has been added to the Coolant panel to report the status of the coolant purge and whether the coolant purge needs to rerun.

Applies to: Cybertruck

Next Update

Tesla’s next update is the 2025.14 Spring Update, which has now rolled out to more than half of the Tesla fleet. If you’re still waiting for it, rest assured that you should be updated soon. If you’ve already updated, be sure to check out the undocumented features already found in the 2025.14 update.

Tesla Denies WSJ Report Claiming Board is Replacing Elon Musk

By Karan Singh
YouTube/NYT Events

Tesla has issued a strong denial in response to a Wall Street Journal report (Paywall) which claimed that Tesla’s Board of Directors had initiated a search for a new CEO.

In a statement posted directly on Tesla’s X account, Board Chair Robyn Denholm denied the report unequivocally. As per the statement, Tesla’s board did not reach out to recruiting firms in search of a new CEO.

Board Supports Elon

The statement reaffirmed the board’s position on Tesla’s current leadership and that the board is highly confident in Elon’s ability to continue executing Tesla’s plans and future growth.

This confidence behind Elon follows his recent statements made during the Q1 2025 Earnings Call that he would be stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the coming days and significantly reducing time spent there. Instead, he would be returning to focus on Tesla’s operations and the upcoming deployment of Robotaxi.

Shortly after the denial was posted, Elon Musk also commented on the report, specifically tagging the Wall Street Journal and criticizing their handling of the report.

We’re glad to see Tesla and Elon set the matter straight, but there could have been a better way to spread this message and maybe even prevent the report from WSJ from going out.

We recently published an opinion piece on why Tesla needs its PR team back, and this specific incident is a good example. Relying solely on platforms like X for critical corporate communications - and in this case, late at night (1 AM EST), with limited reach outside the existing follower base seems like an ineffective way of communicating important company information.

We’d love to see Tesla really put some thought into managing its image, as it seems that several recent reports from major financial news organizations have apparently been wrong.

Either way, the board’s stance is clear - there is no active search underway, and Elon has the full backing and support of the board to lead Tesla toward the future.

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