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Tesla Cybertruck is US’ 3rd best-selling EV in Q3, behind Model 3 and Model Y

Credit: TesLatino/X

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Cox Automotive data has revealed that the Tesla Cybertruck was the United States’ third best-selling electric vehicle in the third quarter of 2024. The all-electric pickup truck was just behind its two stablemates, the Model Y crossover and Model 3 sedan, which were the U.S.’ best and second-best-selling EVs in Q3 2024, respectively. 

As could be seen in Kelley Blue Book’s Electric Vehicle Sales Report Q3 2024, Tesla remains the undisputed king of EVs in the United States, with 166,923 vehicles sold in the third quarter. Year-to-date, Tesla has sold 471,374 vehicles in the United States, accounting for 49.8% of the country’s electric vehicle sector.

Arguably the most surprising EV in Kelly Blue Book’s report was the Cybertruck, which sold 16,692 units in Q3 2024 and 28,250 year-to-date. These results make the Cybertruck the third best-selling EV in the United States in Q3 2024. It also makes the Cybertruck quite dominant in the battery electric pickup truck segment.

For context, the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T, and Chevrolet Silverado EV sold 7,162, 3,817, and 1,995 units in the third quarter, respectively. This means that the Cybertruck, with its sales of 16,692 units in Q3, outsold its three biggest rivals combined during the quarter. That’s not bad at all for a vehicle that is constantly criticized and mocked in the news and social media. 

The U.S.’ EV segment is completely dominated by the Model Y crossover, which sold 86,801 units in Q3 2024. Year-to-date, the Model Y’s U.S. sales were tracked at 284,831 units, which means that the all-electric crossover accounts for 30.1% of the United States’ electric vehicle sector on its own. This is especially impressive considering that some buyers may be waiting for a potential update to the Model Y, similar to the Model 3’s “Highland” update. 

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Following the Model Y was the Tesla Model 3 sedan, which sold 58,423 units in the third quarter. Year-to-date, a total of 131,975 Model 3 sedans were sold in the United States. While this number is notably lower than the Model Y’s sales, it does highlight the the momentum of the reengineered Model 3, which has received rave reviews from professionals and consumers alike. It should also be noted that the Model 3 is only produced in the Fremont Factory and Giga Shanghai, unlike the Model Y, which is produced in the Fremont Factory, Giga Shanghai, Gigafactory Texas, and Gigafactory Berlin. 

Kelley Blue Book’s Electric Vehicle Sales Report Q3 2024 can be viewed below.

Kelley Blue Book EV Sales Report Q3 2024 Revised 10-14-24 by Simon Alvarez on Scribd

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla rolls out Steer-by-Wire improvements to Cybertruck

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Credit: Weibo (via YYDS on X)

Tesla is rolling out some improvements to the Steer-by-Wire system on Cybertruck, which is one of the features exclusive to the vehicle as it is not active on any other vehicle in the company’s all-electric lineup.

Steer-by-wire is a steering system that turns the direction of wheels mechanically. It differs from vehicles with typical electric power steering systems in the way that those rely on the steering wheel column to transfer steering torque to the wheels.

There are a handful of EVs that use steer-by-wire, including the Cybertruck, Hummer EV, and Silverado EV. The latter two use a traditional steering column and only have steer-by-wire on their rear wheels, so they differ from the system the Cybertruck uses.

Credit: Tesla

The system has made the massive Cybertruck have better steering, and although its size is large, it is one of the easier Tesla vehicles to steer through tight spaces — granted you have the room.

Tesla is making an improvement to the system, according to a new update that will roll out in the 2025.8.4 Software Update as the steering wheel is now going to give more realistic feedback by adapting to road surfaces, the company said (via Not a Tesla App):

“The steering wheel now gives you more realistic feedback, adapting to different road surfaces for a better driving experience.”

This feature will work alongside another improvement as the Cybertruck’s air suspension ride height is now adjustable through the Tesla App.

Tesla Cybertruck steer-by-wire system helps avoid potential collision

The changes from the update, in terms of the more realistic feedback, will improve the overall feel of the road for drivers, making for a better driving experience.

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Rivian startup spinoff raises $105M in funding for micro EV production

Meet Also, Rivian’s micro EV spinoff, now a full-fledged startup with $105M in funding. It’s adapting Rivian’s tech for compact EVs.

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(Credit: Rivian)

Rivian’s skunkworks program has turned into a full-blown startup called Also. The new startup, which is separate from Rivian, raised $105 million from Eclipse Ventures. Also will focus on micromobility or the development of micro electric vehicles.

Also started within Rivian, aiming to figure out if the electric vehicle company’s technology could be condensed to fit smaller EVs, including vans, trucks, and SUVs. Eventually, the skunkworks program discovered it could, indeed, fit Rivian’s technology in smaller, more compact electric vehicles, but the project was bigger than Rivian.

“We’ve been taking the Rivian technology stack and adapting it to much smaller form factors and then coming up with some incredibly exciting embodiments of that technology in these very small form factors,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told Reuters.

Rivian will always be part of Also. It holds a minority stake in Also and Rivian’s VP of future programs, Chris Yu, will be the startup’s president.

According to Scaringe, Also plans to debut its first vehicle designs later this year. One of the designs seems to be a bike, as Scringe described it having a seat, two wheels, and a screen with a few computers and a battery.

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Also aims to start producing its flagship product by 2026 for customers in the United States and Europe. In addition, it plans to launch consumer and commercial vehicles made for Asia and South America.

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Investor's Corner

Financial Times retracts report on Tesla’s alleged shady accounting

“Turns out FT can’t do finance,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk quipped on X.

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Credit: Tesla Asia/X

The Financial Times has issued a retraction for an article it recently published that accused the electric vehicle maker of shady accounting practices.

The FT’s retraction has been appreciated by the electric vehicle community in social media, though many highlighted the fact that the publication’s initial erroneous allegations have already been spread across numerous other media outlets.

The Allegations

In an article published on March 19, the Financial Times pointed out that if one were to compare “Tesla’s capital expenditure in the last six months of 2024 to its valuation of the assets that money was spent on,” “$1.4 billion appears to have gone astray.”

The FT article highlighted that Tesla reported spending $6.3 billion on “purchases of property and equipment excluding finance leases, net of sales” in the second half of 2024. However, in that period, the company’s property, plant, and equipment only rose by $4.9 billion. As noted by members of the r/Accounting subreddit, this appeared to be the basis of the FT‘s article, which seemed careless at best.

Unfortunately, the publication’s allegations were quickly echoed by other news outlets, many of which proceeded to accuse Tesla of implementing shady accounting practices.

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The Retraction

In its retraction, the Financial Times explained that Tesla’s payments for assets already purchased and the possible disposal of depreciated property could help explain the alleged discrepancy in the company’s numbers. With these in consideration, the publication noted that the “crack we’re left with at Tesla is now small enough — just under half a billion dollars — to be filled with some combination of foreign exchange movements, non-material asset write-offs, or the sale of machinery or equipment close to its not-fully depreciated value.”

“As we sound the Alphaville bugle while lowering this particular red flag, one unavoidable conclusion is that at a certain point it’s necessary to trust the auditor’s judgment,” the publication noted.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to the Financial Times‘ retraction, commenting, “Turns out FT can’t do finance” in a post on social media platform X.

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