News
Tesla maintains control in California as state’s EV sales surge past 1 million
California has released its Q1 “ZEV” sales report, showing that Tesla remains in control of its most successful market.
The United States remains one of Tesla’s top sales locations, and within the country, no other state gets remotely close to the sales numbers of California. There, a mix of investments in EV charging, a generally increased appetite for the technology, and increased incentives have quickly pushed the Western state toward electrification. Now, as the state has published its Q1 2023 “ZEV” sales report, it is clear that Tesla remains undeniably in control of its previous home market.
The California ZEV Sales report was initially reported by Sawyer Merrit on Twitter earlier today, highlighting Tesla’s success.
NEWS: As of Q1 2023, California has now cumulatively surpassed 1 million battery electric vehicle sales. @Tesla had a record Q1, with the Model Y leading the CA BEV market with 6.3x as many sales as the next best-selling non-Tesla BEV.
Source: https://t.co/2LD9zyXvbb pic.twitter.com/iD9c601n3E
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) April 22, 2023
According to the report, California has sold over 1 million EVs cumulatively since the state started tracking the number only a few years ago. Of that number, 95,946 EVs were sold in the first quarter of this year alone, with the vast majority of those sales being Tesla vehicles.
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Five hundred eighty-eight thousand four hundred fifty-five light-duty vehicles were sold in the first quarter of the year in California, with 16.3% of those being pure electric vehicles and 21.1% being “ZEVs” (EVs + PHEVs + Fuel Cell vehicles).
Unsurprisingly, the Tesla Model Y was the state’s clear sales leader, selling 33,205 units. Just behind its larger brother, the Tesla Model 3 sold 19,989 units, while the Model X led the Model S, selling 3,101 units compared to just 887 Model Ss. Tesla’s top 3 selling vehicles tower over the competition, with only a select few reaching over 2,000 sales in the first quarter of the year.
Clear leaders of those above 2,000 sales include the Volkswagen ID.4, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Chevy Bolt/Bolt EUV, BMW i4, and Polestar 2. Neither Hyundai nor Kia was able to sell 2,000 units of any of its EV lineup, and while cumulatively Rivian neared 2,000 sales, individual R1T and R1S sales remain significantly below the 2,000 unit mark.
Other interesting statistics released by the California Energy Commission include the incredible disparity in where EVs are sold throughout the state. Predominantly, coastal areas, including Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area, lead eastern inland regions by a significant margin. Further, this pattern was replicated in heavy-duty EV sales (buses, heavy-duty trucks, etc.), where Los Angeles, in particular, led the state by an enormous gap.
What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!
Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.
Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.
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Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.
The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.
Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.
The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.
Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.
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Elon Musk continues to tease the unveiling event for the Tesla Roadster, a continuing trend that has grown into a bigger game of “When” for fans who have been waiting years for the car to finally enter production.
A video shared on X of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that Musk appeared on last year, teasing the Roadster unveiling, was shared once again on the social media platform. The poster said the Roadster event will be “unforgettable.”
Musk agreed:
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2026
The timing is interesting because just yesterday, Musk said that we will be getting flying cars, and for years, Tesla has hinted that it could develop a SpaceX cold gas thruster package that would help the car float or fly for a short period of time.
It would be reasonable to assume Tesla’s major delays with this unveiling event are likely caused by the company’s need to break the rules and push the envelope on nearly everything. Last July, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, said:
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“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind blowing. We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on and he got a little excited.”
The latest updates that Tesla has given us are that the Roadster is in design development, and it did have several potential dates for an unveiling event this year, including April. It was then pushed to August.
However, there are no clues as to when Tesla will be ready, and fans are certainly getting frustrated with the delays.
For what it is worth, Franz von Holzhausen told Jay Leno this week that the event would be “very soon.”
We sure hope.
Lifestyle
Tesla’s driverless Cybercab just passed a big test with State Governor
Florida’s governor rode Tesla’s Cybercab at a closed test track and called the experience impressive.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rode in a Tesla Cybercab on a closed test track this week and came away impressed, posting on X that the vehicle “successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.” He called the ride “impressive.”
The stop was part of a broader event Monday at SunTrax, a 775 acre state owned proving ground in Auburndale that Florida built specifically to test autonomous and connected vehicles before they reach public roads. Standing next to a gold Cybercab, DeSantis described the car in plain terms: “You go in there and you just sit. You have a screen. There’s no steering wheel, no pedals. Clearly these things could be very beneficial.”
We took a ride on a robotaxi on the Suntrax course and it successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.
Impressive! https://t.co/FVAkzFLz3r
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 11, 2026
DeSantis paired the praise with a caveat that has followed autonomous vehicles since the category existed. “You don’t want to be in an autonomous vehicle and it drives you into a ditch. That would not be good,” he said, framing safety validation as the gate before wider deployment.
SunTrax, the 2.25 mile oval which the state calls the only high speed autonomous vehicle test track in the Southeast, can simulate rain, pedestrian crossings, hills and crowded urban conditions at highway speeds, letting companies push a car past what an early public rollout would risk. Tesla, Waymo and Beep all use the facility, and Florida’s regulatory approach, among the most permissive for autonomous vehicles in the country, doesn’t require a human operator inside a fully autonomous car.
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Tesla has reason to want the blessing of Florida and states beyond, as the Cybercab entered volume production at Gigafactory Texas this spring and has since self certified as SAE Level 4 under Texas law. Public road testing so far has kept a safety monitor in the passenger seat, and Florida is where Tesla has been expanding its existing Model Y based Robotaxi service instead, adding Miami in July and then Orlando and Tampa two weeks later. A closed track endorsement from a sitting governor doesn’t change any of that, but it does put Tesla’s newest hardware in front of a state that has already shown it will move fast on rules.
Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup
Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster unveiling once again
