News
Electric Vehicle sales increased 109 percent in 2021, China and Europe set the pace
Electric vehicle sales increased 109 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, a new report from analyst firm Canalys indicated. As the all-electric vehicle sector continues to heat up with competition, EVs made up 9 percent of the total automotive sales globally last year, a sharp increase from the year prior. China and Europe continue to lead other regions in EV adoption, with both areas making up 85 percent of the total global EV sales in 2021.
The report, released earlier today, indicates the global electric vehicle market is continuing to expand at a rate that many analysts cannot comprehend. Two areas, in particular, Mainland China and Europe are without a doubt the two regions to adopt EVs with the most enthusiasm. Mainland China accounted for 50 percent of the total EV sales globally in 2021, while Europe maintained 35 percent of the total deliveries. The United States accounted for 8 percent, while the rest of the world made up the remaining seven points.
China’s EV market is incredibly diverse and competition enters the sector nearly every day. Jason Low, Principal Analyst at Canalys, attributes China’s widespread adoption of EVs to the numerous body styles, sizes, and designs that consumers have available to them. “Over 3.2 million EVs were sold in Mainland China in 2021 – half of all-electric cars sold worldwide, and 2 million more than were sold in the country in 2020. Many new models are launching every month in each important market segment, from tiny, inexpensive city cars to mainstream and premium sedans and SUVs,” Low said.
Despite China’s incredible sales figures, Europe still is the region with the highest rate of EV adoption. Although the area had less cumulative sales than Mainland China, Europe has a higher concentration of EV drivers than China.“Demand for EVs continues to be strong in Europe. In fact, in many European countries EVs represented more than a quarter of new cars sold. but customers must be patient. A nine to 12 month wait time for a new EV is not unusual,” said another Canalys analyst, Ashwin Amberkar.
Tesla performed well in both the Chinese and European markets. In China, the Model 3 and Model Y were the most popular vehicles just behind the $5,000 HongGuang Mini EV. In Europe, the Model 3 dominated sales figures fueled by exports from Gigafactory Shanghai. The all-electric Model 3 was the best-selling EV in Europe in 2021.
Tesla Giga Shanghai shows off its Model 3 production efficiency in recent video
United States Electric Vehicle Share
Data from the Canalys report also indicated that, while U.S. EV sales made up just 4 percent of new vehicle sales last year, the momentum of the region’s sector shows promise. New electric vehicles are being launched regularly in the United States thanks to more committed efforts to electrification from legacy car companies. Additionally, the introduction of the all-electric pickup truck market is sure to help the U.S. EV market share grow in the coming years, especially with favorable offerings like the Ford F-150 Lightning, Tesla Cybertruck, GMC Hummer EV, and Chevrolet Silverado EV. Additionally, all-electric manufacturer Rivian started deliveries of the R1T all-electric pickup late last year. Rivian was the first company to offer an all-electric pickup.
“The competition’s EV sales are nowhere near Tesla’s in the US since Model 3 shipments ramped up in 2018. Tesla even outsells many premium car brands in the overall market,” Canalys VP and Chief Analyst Chris Jones said. “Pick-up trucks will give the US EV market a huge lift in 2022. Rivian was first to deliver at the end of 2021, while Ford and GM have had strong interest in the F-150 Lightning and GMC Hummer Pickup respectively.”
Tesla’s Culture of Dominance
Tesla made up 14 percent of worldwide EV sales, beating Volkswagen by two percentage points and SAIC by three percent. “Sales of the Model Y started in the major markets in 2021 and quickly overtook those of the Model 3 in Mainland China and the US. Tesla vehicle production is well established in Mainland China and will commence in Europe in the first half 2022 as it focuses on delivering existing models rather than launching new ones in 2022,” the report said.
Canalys full report is available here.
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News
Tesla launches its coolest gift idea ever just a few weeks after it was announced
“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention.”
Tesla has launched its coolest gift idea ever, just a few weeks after it was announced.
Tesla is now giving owners the opportunity to gift Full Self-Driving for one month to friends or family through a new gifting program that was suggested to the company last month.
The program will enable people to send a fellow Tesla owner one month of the company’s semi-autonomous driving software, helping them to experience the Full Self-Driving suite and potentially help Tesla gain them as a subscriber of the program, or even an outright purchase.
Tesla is going to allow owners to purchase an FSD Subscription for another owner for different month options
You’ll be able to gift FSD to someone! https://t.co/V29dhf5URj
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 3, 2025
Tesla has officially launched the program on its Shop. Sending one month of Full Self-Driving costs $112:
“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention. All sales are final. Can only be purchased and redeemed in the U.S. This gift card is valued at $112.00 and is intended to cover the price of one month of FSD (Supervised), including up to 13% sales tax. It is not guaranteed to cover the full monthly price if pricing or tax rates change. This gift card can be stored in Tesla Wallet and redeemed toward FSD (Supervised) or any other Tesla product or service that accepts gift card payments.”
Tesla has done a great job of expanding Full Self-Driving access over the past few years, especially by offering things like the Subscription program, free trials through referrals, and now this gift card program.
Gifting Full Self-Driving is another iteration of Tesla’s “butts in seats” strategy, which is its belief that it can flip consumers to its vehicles and products by simply letting people experience them.
There is also a reason behind pushing Full Self-Driving so hard, and it has to do with CEO Elon Musk’s compensation package. One tranche requires Musk to achieve a certain number of active paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
More people who try the suite are likely to pay for it over the long term.
News
Tesla expands Robotaxi app access once again, this time on a global scale
Tesla said recently it plans to launch Robotaxi in Miami, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Dallas.
Tesla has expanded Robotaxi app access once again, but this time, it’s on a much broader scale as the company is offering the opportunity for those outside of North America to download the app.
Tesla Robotaxi is the company’s early-stage ride-hailing platform that is active in Texas, California, and Arizona, with more expansion within the United States planned for the near future.
Tesla said recently it plans to launch Robotaxi in Miami, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Dallas.
The platform has massive potential, and Tesla is leaning on it to be a major contributor to even more disruption in the passenger transportation industry. So far, it has driven over 550,000 miles in total, with the vast majority of this coming from the Bay Area and Austin.
First Look at Tesla’s Robotaxi App: features, design, and more
However, Tesla is focusing primarily on rapid expansion, but most of this is reliant on the company’s ability to gain regulatory permission to operate the platform in various regions. The expansion plans go well outside of the U.S., as the company expanded the ability to download the app to more regions this past weekend.
So far, these are the areas it is available to download in:
- Japan
- Thailand
- Hong Kong
- South Korea
- Australia
- Taiwan
- Macau
- New Zealand
- Mexico
- U.S.
- Canada
Right now, while Tesla is focusing primarily on expansion, it is also working on other goals that have to do with making it more widely available to customers who want to grab a ride from a driverless vehicle.
One of the biggest goals it has is to eliminate safety monitors from its vehicles, which it currently utilizes in Austin in the passenger’s seat and in the driver’s seat in the Bay Area.
A few weeks ago, Tesla started implementing a new in-cabin data-sharing system, which will help support teams assist riders without anyone in the front of the car.
Tesla takes a step towards removal of Robotaxi service’s safety drivers
As Robotaxi expands into more regions, Tesla stands to gain tremendously through the deployment of the Full Self-Driving suite for personal cars, as well as driverless Robotaxis for those who are just hailing rides.
Things have gone well for Tesla in the early stages of the Robotaxi program, but expansion will truly be the test of how things operate going forward. Navigating local traffic laws and gaining approval from a regulatory standpoint will be the biggest hurdle to jump.
Tesla received a price target boost from Morgan Stanley, according to a new note on Monday morning, but there is some considerable caution also being communicated over the next year or so.
Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco took over Tesla coverage for the firm from longtime bull Adam Jonas, who appears to be focusing on embodied AI stocks and no longer automotive.
Percoco took over and immediately adjusted the price target for Tesla from $410 to $425, and changed its rating on shares from ‘Overweight’ to ‘Equal Weight.’
Percoco said he believes Tesla is the leading company in terms of electric vehicles, manufacturing, renewable energy, and real-world AI, so it deserves a premium valuation. However, he admits the high expectations for the company could provide for a “choppy trading environment” for the next year.
He wrote:
“However, high expectations on the latter have brought the stock closer to fair valuation. While it is well understood that Tesla is more than an auto manufacturer, we expect a choppy trading environment for the TSLA shares over the next 12 months, as we see downside to estimates, while the catalysts for its non-auto businesses appear priced at current levels.”
Percoco also added that if market cap hurdles are achieved, Morgan Stanley would reduce its price target by 7 percent.
Perhaps the biggest change with Percoco taking over the analysis for Jonas is how he will determine the value of each individual project. For example, he believes Optimus is worth about $60 per share of equity value.
He went on to describe the potential value of Full Self-Driving, highlighting its importance to the Tesla valuation:
“Full Self Driving (FSD) is the crown jewel of Tesla’s auto business; we believe that its leading-edge personal autonomous driving offering is a real game changer, and will remain a significant competitive advantage over its EV and non-EV peers. As Tesla continues to improve its platform with increased levels of autonomy (i.e., hands-off, eyes-off), it will revolutionize the personal driving experience. It remains to be seen if others will be able to keep pace.”
Additionally, Percoco outlined both bear and bull cases for the stock. He believes $860 per share, “which could be in play in the next 12 months if Tesla manages through the EV-downturn,” while also scaling Robotaxi, executing on unsupervised FSD, and scaling Optimus, is in play for the bull case.
Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might
Meanwhile, the bear case is placed at $145 per share, and “assumes greater competition and margin pressure across all business lines, embedding zero value for humanoids, slowing the growth curve for Tesla’s robotaxi fleet to reflect regulatory challenges in scaling a vision-only perception stack, and lowering market share and margin profile for the autos and energy businesses.”
Currently, Tesla shares are trading at around $441.
Tesla launches its coolest gift idea ever just a few weeks after it was announced
Tesla expands Robotaxi app access once again, this time on a global scale
