The first quarter of 2021 proved something most of the electric vehicle community probably expected: the Tesla Model 3 was the best-selling EV through the first three months of the year.
After Tesla delivered 184,800 cars in Q1, a record-setting performance in terms of the company’s individual performance, it was realized by many that the California-based automaker would not need its flagship vehicles to assist in its industry-dominating efforts. While Tesla continued routine and accelerated production of the Model 3 and Model Y, the Model S and Model X took a backseat during Q1 2021. Tesla didn’t produce the two vehicles, and CEO Elon Musk indicated that his company was still ironing out some small discrepancies in designing the two, more-expensive EVs that it offers. However, that didn’t slump demand of the Model 3 or Model Y, and the two cars made up for an overwhelming majority of the company’s Q1 delivery figures.
(Photo: Andres GE)
While Tesla’s Q1 delivery statistics were a new record in the short but storied record books that the 18-year old company has, global statistics also fell in the company’s favor. While the Model 3 has continued to dominate markets like the United States and has battled with local, affordable rivals like the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV in China, the Model 3 secured its position as the most popular EV in the world in Q1, a statistic that likely doesn’t surprise many of those who are well-versed in the world of electric vehicles.
Starting at $38,990, the Model 3 was Tesla’s first mass-market vehicle. After grinding and pushing through what Elon Musk called “Production Hell,” Tesla solved production and manufacturing shortcomings to effectively build and deliver the Model 3. The vehicle brought Tesla to the mainstream and became one of the many ways that the company introduced the idea of affordable electric passenger transport to the industry. As a result, many other carmakers have attempted to derail the Model 3’s success with their own effective and affordable EVs, but nothing has matched the performance, range, affordability, and quality of the Model 3.
According to newly-released figures from the EV Sales Blog, Tesla sold 75,888 Model 3 units in March alone, making it Earth’s most popular EV during the third month of the year. However, add January and February into the mix, and cumulative Q1 statistics also fall in favor of the affordable Model 3 sedan, accounting for 126,716 units during the first quarter of 2021. The figure accounts for 11% of the global EV market share for the year, leading the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV in second, with an impressive 96,674 units sold in Q1.
Credit: EV Sales Blog
The Model 3 wasn’t Tesla’s only claim to fame through the first quarter; the Model Y also made an appearance on the hypothetical podium with a third-place finish. The all-electric Model Y crossover has only been delivered by Tesla for a little more than a year, but its youthful timeframe didn’t attribute to any lackluster sales figures. Just a year into its campaign, the Model Y accumulated 56,064 sales in Q1 2021, a commanding lead over the fourth-place BYD Han EV, with only 21,354 units sold.
The newly-released figures are a testament to the Model 3’s sustained popularity, even nearly four years after the car began initial deliveries. Tesla’s rollout of affordable vehicles has further established its dominance in a quickly growing EV sector. With plans to begin producing even more affordable models in the future, there appears to be no ceiling on Tesla’s potential.
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Anti-Tesla union leader ditches X, urges use of Threads instead
Tesla Sweden and IF Metall have been engaged in a bitter dispute for over two years now.
Marie Nilsson, chair of Sweden’s IF Metall union and a prominent critic of Tesla, has left X and is urging audiences to follow the union on Meta’s Threads instead.
Tesla Sweden and IF Metall have been engaged in a bitter dispute for over two years now.
Anti-Tesla union leader exits X
In a comment to Dagens Arbete (DA), Nilsson noted that her exit from X is not formally tied to IF Metall’s long-running labor dispute with Tesla Sweden. Still, she stated that her departure is affected by changes to the platform under Elon Musk’s leadership.
“We have stayed because many journalists pick up news there. But as more and more people have left X, we have felt that the standard has now been reached on that platform,” she said.
Jesper Pettersson, press officer at IF Metall, highlighted that the union’s departure from X is only indirectly linked to Tesla Sweden and Elon Musk. “Indirectly it does, since there is a lot of evidence that his ownership has caused the change in the platform to be so significant.
“We have nevertheless assessed that the platform had value for reaching journalists, politicians and other opinion leaders. But it is a microscopic proportion of the public and our members who are there, and now that value has decreased,” Petterson added.
IF Metall sees Threads as an X alternative
After leaving X, IF Metall has begun using Threads, Meta’s alternative to the social media platform. The union described the move as experimental, noting that it is still evaluating how effective the platform will be for outreach and visibility.
Pettersson acknowledged that Meta also does not operate under Sweden’s collective bargaining model, but said the union sees little alternative if it wants to remain visible online.
“In a perfect world, all large international companies would be supporters of the Swedish model when they come here. But unfortunately, the reality is not like that. If we are to be visible at all in this social media world, we have to play by the rules of the game. The alternative would be to become completely invisible, and that would not benefit our members,” he said.
Despite many recent rumors and various reports, Elon Musk confirmed today that SpaceX is not developing a phone based on Starlink, not once, but twice.
Today’s report from Reuters cited people familiar with the matter and stated internal discussions have seen SpaceX executives mulling the idea of building a mobile device that would connect directly to the Starlink satellite constellation.
Musk did state in late January that SpaceX developing a phone was “not out of the question at some point.” However, He also said it would have to be a major difference from current phones, and would be optimized “purely for running max performance/watt neural nets.”
Not out of the question at some point. It would be a very different device than current phones. Optimized purely for running max performance/watt neural nets.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 30, 2026
While Musk said it was not out of the question “at some point,” that does not mean it is currently a project SpaceX is working on. The CEO reaffirmed this point twice on X this afternoon.
Musk said, “Reuters lies relentlessly,” in one post. In the next, he explicitly stated, “We are not developing a phone.”
Reuters lies relentlessly
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2026
We are not developing a phone
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2026
Musk has basically always maintained that SpaceX has too many things going on, denying that a phone would be in the realm of upcoming projects. There are too many things in the works for Musk’s space exploration company, most notably the recent merger with xAI.
SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise
A Starlink phone would be an excellent idea, especially considering that SpaceX operates 9,500 satellites, serving over 9 million users worldwide. 650 of those satellites are dedicated to the company’s direct-to-device initiative, which provides cellular coverage on a global scale.
Nevertheless, there is the potential that the Starlink phone eventually become a project SpaceX works on. However, it is not currently in the scope of what the company needs to develop, so things are more focused on that as of right now.
Tesla has added a notable improvement to its Dashcam feature after complaints from owners have pushed the company to make a drastic change.
Perhaps one of the biggest frustrations that Tesla owners have communicated regarding the Dashcam feature is the lack of ability to retain any more than 60 minutes of driving footage before it is overwritten.
It does not matter what size USB jump drive is plugged into the vehicle. 60 minutes is all it will hold until new footage takes over the old. This can cause some issues, especially if you were saving an impressive clip of Full Self-Driving or an incident on the road, which could be lost if new footage was recorded.
This has now been changed, as Tesla has shown in the Release Notes for an upcoming Software Update in China. It will likely expand to the U.S. market in the coming weeks, and was first noticed by NotaTeslaApp.
The release notes state:
“Dashcam Dynamic Recording Duration – The dashcam dynamically adjusts the recording duration based on the available storage capacity of the connected USB drive. For example, with a 128 GB USB drive, the maximum recording duration is approximately 3 hours; with a 1 TB or larger USB drive, it can reach up to 24 hours. This ensures that as much video as possible is retained for review before it gets overwritten.”
Tesla Adds Dynamic Recording
Instead of having a 60-minute cap, the new system will now go off the memory in the USB drive. This means with:
- 128 GB Jump Drive – Up to Three Hours of Rolling Footage
- 1TB Jump Drive – Up to 24 Hours of Rolling Footage
This is dependent on the amount of storage available on the jump drive, meaning that if there are other things saved on it, it will take away from the amount of footage that can be retained.
While the feature is just now making its way to employees in China, it will likely be at least several weeks before it makes its way to the U.S., but owners should definitely expect it in the coming months.
It will be a welcome feature, especially as there will now be more customization to the number of clips and their duration that can be stored.
Anti-Tesla union leader ditches X, urges use of Threads instead
Elon Musk confirms SpaceX is not developing a phone
