Visualizing Tesla’s Global Sales By Model & Year

In the last five years, Tesla stock has exploded upwards more than 800%.

From a company that was perpetually on the verge of bankruptcy, Tesla has emerged as the EV manufacturer to beat in the automotive market.

A huge part of the success comes from Tesla’s sales which jumped 30x in the same time period.

Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu and Bhabna Banerkjee take a look at the numbers, as well as the sales share between the different Tesla models from 2016-2023 using data from CleanTechnica, an archive for news and data around clean technology.

Tesla’s Global Sales Sales Through the Years

From 2018 onwards, Tesla’s global sales began to skyrocket. Though quarter-on-quarter growth wasn’t always positive, dips were followed by more breakout numbers.

Here’s the model breakdown of Tesla’s global sales, from Q2 2016 to Q3 2023.

Date	Tesla Model S	Tesla Model X	Tesla Model 3	Tesla Model Y
Q2 2016	9,764	4,638	N/A	N/A
Q3 2016	16,047	8,774	N/A	N/A
Q4 2016	12,700	9,500	N/A	N/A
Q1 2017	13,481	11,570	N/A	N/A
Q2 2017	12,010	10,010	N/A	N/A
Q3 2017	14,065	11,865	220	N/A
Q4 2017	15,200	13,120	1,550	N/A
Q1 2018	11,730	10,070	8,180	N/A
Q2 2018	10,930	11,370	18,440	N/A
Q3 2018	14,470	13,190	55,840	N/A
Q4 2018	13,500	14,050	63,150	N/A
Q1 2019	6,000	6,100	50,900	N/A
Q2 2019	8,422	9,300	77,634	N/A
Q3 2019	8,383	9,100	79,703	N/A
Q4 2019	8,375	11,100	92,620	N/A
Q1 2020	4,525	7,705	73,975	2,291
Q2 2020	3,927	6,687	63,793	16,484
Q3 2020	4,583	10,693	94,049	30,269
Q4 2020	6,060	12,860	126,624	35,123
Q1 2021	1,010	1,010	115,077	67,780
Q2 2021	890	1,000	110,054	89,360
Q3 2021	9,000	275	111,225	120,800
Q4 2021	4,050	7,700	140,000	156,850
Q1 2022	7,362	7,362	129,764	165,560
Q2 2022	8,081	8,081	100,066	138,467
Q3 2022	7,469	11,203	120,308	204,850
Q4 2022	6,344	10,803	135,846	252,285
Q1 2023	3,695	7,000	132,180	280,000
Q2 2023	6,225	13,000	146,915	300,000
Q3 2023	5,985	10,000	117,074	302,000
Total	254,283	269,136	2,165,187	2,162,119

Note: Beginning in 2020, Tesla’s reporting began to combine Model 3 & Y sales together. Model-specific data from this point is based on CleanTechnica’s estimates.

Aside from this steep rise, another key factor to note is how Tesla’s lineup has changed. The company began ramping production with the Model S and X, two luxury models that helped the brand build a prestigious image.

However since 2020 , the company has successfully transitioned to cheaper high volume models like the Model 3 and Y.

In fact, 2020 was also the first year Tesla turned a profit thanks in part to the Model Y.

The Model 3 and Y were also the world’s best-selling EVs in 2023.

Tesla’s presumed rival, Amazon and Ford-backed Rivian, is planning a similar approach. Its first models include the relatively expensive, full-size R1T and R1S. However the company has hinted at a 2024 reveal for its cheaper R2 model, with production starting in 2026.