Electric carmaker Tesla has recently gone on record, claiming that the brand was able to successfully deliver 1.8 million EVs in 2023 alone. According to Elon Musk, the carmaker was able to manufacture 1.846 million EVs and delivered 1.806 million of them through the entirety of last year. This number is significant as it is 38% more than in 2022, making it Tesla’s most successful year yet. The only bit of concern is that Chinese automaker BYD is not far behind.
Initially, Tesla was projected to sell 2 million units in 2023, but in their October sales call, the brand was quick to revise that number, citing multiple reasons. The positive though, was that they exceeded analyst expectations for Q4 2023 by a fair margin.
To get into more specifics, Tesla manufactured 476,777 Model 3 and Model Y EVs last quarter and delivered 461,538 of them. The Model Y was touted to be Tesla’s best-selling car, but it is difficult to give it that title as the company has not put forward dedicated numbers to back this claim. As far as the other models are concerned, he company sold 18,212 “other models” consisting of Model S and Model X EVs, while there are no reports yet when it comes to the Cybertruck.
This news is definitely good news for the carmaker, who has been in hot water recently, with their autopilot system coming under heavy scrutiny in the US. Experts believe that the reason for Tesla’s sale success in 2023 is due to the price drops that it offered throughout the year, with the Model 3 and Model Y most recently dropping to $38,990 and $45,990, respectively. Despite the regulatory issues, the company still remains a hot commodity and the go-to brand, when it comes to EVs.
Coming to BYD, the Chinese automaker also put out its sales report and the numbers suggest that they sold close to 3.01 million cars in 2023, which is significantly more than Tesla, which they claim, is their main rival. However, out of these 3.01 million vehicles, only 1.6 million were fully electric vehicles, while the remaining were hybrids. Another thing to note is that BYD sells their cars at a lower price than Tesla, making it more approachable and affordable for the mass populace.
