Elon Musk responded to the newest staggering EV sales numbers with a sarcastic yet realistic post: "The competition is coming." The Tesla CEO has heard that for years, but the latest numbers from Reuters show that no manufacturer is even close in the EV race; in fact, all of the others could combine, and they still can't match Tesla's dominance.
Between January and June 2023, Tesla sold a whopping 325,291 electric cars in the U.S. That's way more than any other company. General Motors' Chevrolet sold the second most, but only 34,943 vehicles. Ford, Hyundai, and Rivian sold even fewer. Tesla's Model Y and Model 3 cars are the most popular, selling 200,000 and 160,000 each.
Other Companies Are Having a Hard Time
While Tesla sells many cars, other companies like Ford are struggling. Ford had to stop building a big $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan because they were losing money. They expected to lose $4.5 billion on their electric cars in one year. They are also facing labor strife, with the union demanding a 30% pay raise and a reduction of hours.
Many car companies are spending a lot of money to make electric cars and batteries, but they're not selling enough to make a profit. They need to figure out how to make their cars more popular.
More People Are Buying Electric Cars, But Mostly Teslas
Tesla dominates EV sales in the U.S.
Not a Tesla App
More and more people are buying electric cars. They made up 8.9% of all vehicles sold in the U.S. in the first half of 2023. That's almost 1 in 10 vehicles. But, there are 103 different models of electric cars, so the sales are spread out among many brands.
Tesla is also helping to make electric cars more affordable. They used their profits to lower prices and sell more cars. The average price of an electric vehicle dropped to $53,376 in July 2023, down from nearly $70,000 the year before. This makes it easier for more people to buy electric cars and join the green movement.
Globe Appeal
While the latest numbers looked at just the U.S., there are stories from around the world showing Tesla's dominance. The company marked a significant achievement by having over 50,000 vehicles on the roads, with 20,000 of them being Model Y crossovers, as shared by Tesla Regional Lead Kim Gaba Jensen on LinkedIn.
This growth is noteworthy, considering the number of Teslas in Denmark was just above 4,000 when Jensen joined the company in 2018 and around 12,000 at the end of 2020. This rapid increase in Tesla vehicles reflects the brand's growing popularity in the country, constituting nearly 2% of all cars on Danish roads. This milestone was confirmed and celebrated on social media platforms, including X, with Tesla Europe expressing gratitude to its Danish customers.
Tesla's ongoing supremacy in the electric vehicle sector remains unchallenged, as it sets unprecedented sales records and experiences monumental growth globally, with Denmark being a prime example. The struggle of competitors like Ford exemplifies the challenges other automotive companies face trying to find a foothold in this Tesla-dominated market. Remember, the company hasn't even introduced the vehicle it believes will be the best-selling EV.
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Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.
Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.
It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.
Advisor-led Demo
This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.
The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.
Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.
Vision-based Improvements
ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.
Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.
I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.
Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.
Actually Smart Summon
ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.
We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.
Park Seek and Banish Autopark
When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.
A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.
While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.
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