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Just because a company is innovative doesn’t mean it will always be a leader. That fact is becoming increasingly obvious by taking a look at the current crop of electric vehicles.
While Tesla was once the brand to beat as other automakers attempted to create affordable, reliable EVs, recent data suggest that’s no longer the case.
A smaller piece of a bigger pie
You don’t have to be a car nut to recognize that EVs are rapidly taking the place of gas-powered cars on the roads of America and other industrialized nations. In January 2022, just over 4% of newly registered vehicles were electric — but that number was up to 7% a year later.
Since Tesla was a pioneer in this segment of the automotive industry, it makes sense that its vehicles were (and still are) disproportionately represented in the number of EVs sold. But things are changing, as evidenced by statistics from over the past year:
- In January 2022, 72% of the EVs sold were made by Tesla.
- Since then, that share has dropped to just a little over half.
- The Model S was particularly hard hit, with registrations dropping by 75% in January.
It’s still a popular brand
There are a few reasons that people are more reluctant to buy Teslas than in the past — including some questionable business moves and public statements by CEO Elon Musk. But increased competition is the biggest culprit.
Affordable alternatives like the Chevy Bolt are attracting first-time EV customers and cool options like the Ford Mustang Mach-E are taking attention away from top-of-the-line Tesla models.
But even though this has all taken its toll on Tesla’s bottom line, the Model Y and Model 3 are still the two best-selling EVs on the market … at least for now.
