Gary Zhou 
Tesla may not be recognized by the Biden administration as a leader in the electric vehicle market, but this does not mean that the company is not absolutely dominating the sector. This was certainly the case in California, Tesla’s original home state, as the EV maker has completely expanded its reach even into the general auto market, as highlighted by CNBC’s Phil LeBeau in a recent Squawk Box segment.
Citing data from the California New Car Dealers Association, LeBeau stated that Tesla is completely dominating the electric vehicle sector, and a lot of it has to do with the strength of the Model Y. The Model Y competes in the extremely popular crossover segment, and it shows, with the all-electric vehicle ranking as the state’s fifth best-selling model, outselling even popular gas-powered rivals. This is very impressive considering that the Model Y is a premium-priced crossover, and it has received a number of price increases over the year.
“We get this data every quarter from the California New Car Dealers Association, and it’s a great look at how the country’s largest auto market is moving in terms of trends — what people are buying what they’re not buying — and the numbers look incredible for Tesla. Now they’ve always been strong in California. It’s always been their strongest market, but look at the surge in sales this year. Nobody’s close to them, up 64%. The strength of this, the Model Y. Now the Model 3 has always done well there, but the Model Y it is the fifth best-selling model in California. Let me stress this again. Not the fifth-best-selling electric vehicle. The fifth best-selling vehicle, period. It is also the number one luxury compact SUV in California,” LeBeau said.
Apart from discussing the Model Y’s strength in California, the CNBC correspondent also highlighted that estimates for Tesla’s fourth-quarter deliveries are becoming more and more optimistic. While current FactSet estimates for the company’s Q4 2021 vehicle deliveries stand at an already impressive 893,000, LeBeau noted that it would not be surprising if these estimates rise to over 900,000 vehicles as the year ends. There’s a lot of upside left for Tesla’s deliveries in the near future as well, as the company is yet to deploy its new EV production sites, Giga Berlin and Giga Texas. When those are already in operation, the company’s vehicle deliveries would most certainly see a notable rise.
“One reason when you take a look at Tesla’s annual sales, the estimates continue to go up not just because of California, but because of what they’re doing worldwide. The estimate now according to FactSet is for full year deliveries to reach 893,000 vehicles. Don’t be surprised by the end of the year if the estimate tops 900,000 vehicles. As you take a look at Tesla over the last three months, remember the Gigafactory hasn’t even come online. It starts production at the end of this year. We’ll probably start to see the first vehicles coming out of the Gigafactory next year. We will see the Cybertruck towards the end of next year,” LeBeau said.
Watch CNBC’s segment on Tesla’s strength in California in the video below.
