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Tesla Model 3 sells 4x more than its closest rival in Europe’s plug-in market

(Credit: Tesla)

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  • United Kingdom – 6,500 Model 3 cars sold
  • France – 4,524 Model 3 cars sold 
  • Germany – 3,699 Model 3 cars sold 
  • Norway – 2,169 Model 3 cars sold
  • Italy – 1,363 Model 3 cars sold
  • Sweden – 1,192 Model 3 cars sold 
  • Austria – 1,192 Model 3 cars sold 

The Hyundai Kona EV was the second top-selling model in Europe last month with 5,643 deliveries. Hyundai sold the most Kona EV vehicles in Germany, delivering 3,237 units in March—very close to Tesla Model 3 sales. The Korean automaker sold 800 Kona EV units in the United Kingdom, 409 in France, and 349 in Norway. 

The Volvo XC40 PHEV, Renault Zoe, and Volkswagen ID.4 rounded out the top 5 models in the European plug-in market. In March, there were 5,567 Volvo XC40 PHEV vehicle registrations in Europe. The Renault Zoe came close to Volvo’s numbers with 5,482 deliveries. The Volkswagen started ID.4 deliveries in February, but March seems to be when it started hitting its stride. Approximately 5,104 Volkswagen ID.4 vehicles were registered last month.

Tesla’s Model 3 sales in Europe last month provided a closer look at the EV automaker’s growth and continuing rise in the region. The Tesla Model 3 has become the best-selling luxury sedan in the world, beating the likes of veterans like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 3 Series. Tesla hopes the Model Y will become the best-selling vehicle in any category by 2022 or 2023. Elon Musk highlighted this in the Q1 earnings call. 

“Model 3 became the best-selling midsized premier sedan in the world, in fact, I should say the best-selling luxury sedan of any kind in the world. The BMW 3 Series was for the longest time the best-selling premium sedan, has been exceeded by the Tesla Model 3. And this is only three and a half years into production and was just two factories. For Model 3 to be outselling its combustion engine competitors, I think, is quite remarkable,” Musk said. 

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com or reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com.

Tesla sold four times more Tesla Model 3 sedans than its closest competitor in Europe last month, hinting at its rising dominance in the region. The Tesla Model 3 made up over 10% of plug-in car sales in Europe last month, delivering 24,184 units out of the over 227,000 registered in March. 

EV Sales Blog broke down Tesla’s Model 3 sales numbers in certain European countries.  

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  • United Kingdom – 6,500 Model 3 cars sold
  • France – 4,524 Model 3 cars sold 
  • Germany – 3,699 Model 3 cars sold 
  • Norway – 2,169 Model 3 cars sold
  • Italy – 1,363 Model 3 cars sold
  • Sweden – 1,192 Model 3 cars sold 
  • Austria – 1,192 Model 3 cars sold 

The Hyundai Kona EV was the second top-selling model in Europe last month with 5,643 deliveries. Hyundai sold the most Kona EV vehicles in Germany, delivering 3,237 units in March—very close to Tesla Model 3 sales. The Korean automaker sold 800 Kona EV units in the United Kingdom, 409 in France, and 349 in Norway. 

The Volvo XC40 PHEV, Renault Zoe, and Volkswagen ID.4 rounded out the top 5 models in the European plug-in market. In March, there were 5,567 Volvo XC40 PHEV vehicle registrations in Europe. The Renault Zoe came close to Volvo’s numbers with 5,482 deliveries. The Volkswagen started ID.4 deliveries in February, but March seems to be when it started hitting its stride. Approximately 5,104 Volkswagen ID.4 vehicles were registered last month.

Tesla’s Model 3 sales in Europe last month provided a closer look at the EV automaker’s growth and continuing rise in the region. The Tesla Model 3 has become the best-selling luxury sedan in the world, beating the likes of veterans like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 3 Series. Tesla hopes the Model Y will become the best-selling vehicle in any category by 2022 or 2023. Elon Musk highlighted this in the Q1 earnings call. 

“Model 3 became the best-selling midsized premier sedan in the world, in fact, I should say the best-selling luxury sedan of any kind in the world. The BMW 3 Series was for the longest time the best-selling premium sedan, has been exceeded by the Tesla Model 3. And this is only three and a half years into production and was just two factories. For Model 3 to be outselling its combustion engine competitors, I think, is quite remarkable,” Musk said. 

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com or reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com.

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Elon Musk

Tesla Roadster owners to get “Flying Stunt Mode” and looping track access

Musk says Roadster owners can command the unveiling stunts autonomously, with a Texas looping track.

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Elon Musk says owners of the new Tesla Roadster will be able to ask the car to perform the stunts Tesla showed at its unveiling, with the car doing the driving itself. Musk made the comment Saturday in a reply on X to tech blogger Robert Scoble, and he added a promise of a looping track at Tesla’s Texas headquarters.

Scoble had argued that the person in the Roadster is not really driving it. In his description, the driver operates a computer that tells another computer what to do, with steering, braking and acceleration all handled by wire. Musk answered, “True. You will be able to ask the Roadster to perform any of the tricks shown autonomously, as it will be sentient. Also, we will have a wild looping track (crazier even than Hot Wheels) at our Texas HQ where you can test out your Roadster.”

At the October 15 event outside Waco, the car drove up a curved ramp until it was upside down, flew off on cold gas thrusters, flipped and landed. It also hovered over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Semi, Model Y and Model 3 while moving. As we noted in our breakdown of the three Roadster configurations, Musk said at the event that the car “literally is just going to puff itself up” to perform the maneuvers whenever an owner wants. Saturday’s reply adds that the car would run them on its own.

Tesla has described some of the hardware that would make that possible. The Roadster uses steer by wire with a yoke, and its cold gas thrusters rely on electric actuators for small adjustments in flight. A fan system under the car creates suction, which Tesla says is strong enough to hold it upside down, a setup we covered in our look at the Roadster’s fan system and thrusters.

Musk did not say when an autonomous stunt feature might arrive, how it would work, or what he means by sentient. He also gave no size, location or opening date for the Texas track. Production is planned for Giga Texas in 2027 or 2028, and Tesla says the car is not approved for public road use. The Rocket version, the one built to fly, is invite only.

The comment follows a week of Musk teasing the event, including his claim that the demo would be a banger, which we covered before the stream. Tesla reports third quarter earnings on October 21, and shareholders can submit and vote on questions through the Say portal until 4 p.m. EDT on October 20, according to our earnings Q&A preview. A question about autonomous Roadster stunts and the Texas track would be a quick way to get specifics from management.

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Elon Musk

How to use Grok Bot to block spam calls and texts

Musk told users to ask Grok Bot to scrub their phone numbers from spam lists.

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Elon Musk has a new use case for Grok Bot, and it is the spam call. On Thursday he replied to an X user named Arash with a short instruction: “Ask your @Grok @Bot to remove your phone number from spam call & text lists!” Arash had said he got tired of the calls, had an AI bot find his number on listing sites and file removal requests, and packaged the process as a free skill for others.

The skill is called Spam-Call Scrubber, which is described to find a phone number on people search sites and data brokers, submits the opt outs, completes the confirmation emails those sites send back, and rechecks on a schedule the user picks. Using it requires the Grok Bot app. The pitch is time saved, since most broker opt outs sit behind separate forms on separate sites.



Musk said Grok Bot now gives each bot its own email address, and that it can detect scam emails. On Thursday he also said SpaceX would make users whole if the bot botches a purchase or leaks a card, then told users to shop away from Amazon after the retailer blocked the agent, as Teslarati reported. The terms of service we reviewed at the time put responsibility for what an agent does on the user.

For Tesla owners, Grok Bot is not just a phone app. Tesla brought Grok Bot into its vehicles on September 22, and we argued earlier this week that the Cybercab’s real advantage may be the errands it runs during a ride. Every Cybercab and the rest of the Model Y Robotaxi fleet has it enabled. The more routine tasks like this one become, the more a rider has reason to hand over something personal in the back seat.

The new Spam-Call Scrubber skill can be downloaded for free and works on sites that honor removal requests, while noting that listings can reappear, and illegal robocallers do not check any registry. Whether Spam-Call Scrubber cuts anyone’s call volume is something the first wave of users will find out, and Musk’s endorsement guarantees that wave is coming.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla’s flying Roadster just revealed something bigger than the car

Analysts say the Roadster demo puts a Tesla and SpaceX merger back on the table.

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Tesla’s new Roadster, upside down and trailing cold gas thruster smoke, flips over a lineup of Tesla vehicles at the Roadster unveiling near Waco, Texas on October 15, 2026. (Image: Tesla)
Tesla’s new Roadster, upside down and trailing cold gas thruster smoke, flips over a lineup of Tesla vehicles at the Roadster unveiling near Waco, Texas on October 15, 2026. (Image: Tesla)

The Roadster unveiling near Waco ended Thursday night, and by Friday morning much of the investor reaction had less to do with the car than with who owns the rocket technology inside it.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the event “puts the Tesla/SpaceX relationship on the table in a tangible way,” pointing to the propulsion, pressure vessel and control hardware sitting on a Tesla product. Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management called the demo “a ridiculous display of engineering” with “no commercial value” beyond embarrassing traditional automakers, though he said it showed Musk wants the two companies together.

The more specific forecast came a day earlier from Barclays. Analyst Dan Levy told clients a deal could be announced before Tesla’s annual meeting, which must happen by December 6, and that an announcement in late October or early November could make shareholder approval harder. Barclays expects SpaceX to be the buyer in an all stock deal, with Tesla holders receiving SpaceX shares at a premium, based on market values of roughly $2.1 trillion for SpaceX and $1.5 trillion for Tesla. If nothing lands around the meeting, the bank still sees an announcement within 6 to 12 months.

The Roadster demo just added more weight to merger speculations. Tesla’s demo used cold gas thrusters and pressure tanks of the kind SpaceX uses on Falcon 9, and Musk described the car as a collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX engineers, as we mentioned in our breakdown of the three Roadster configurations.


Musk has not publicly addressed a deal since the event, as far as we have seen. His most direct answer remains the one he gave at the All In Summit, when he said that with so much collaboration, “who can imagine what action one might take” without ruling anything out. Ives has held to a 2027 timeline since his March note, and Musk pushed back on the China piece of the speculation when ARK floated a year end announcement in August.

The next test is Tesla’s third quarter earnings call on October 21. However, we recall in July that Musk told analysts, “we can’t talk about combining companies and that kind of thing on an earnings call,” so a clear answer wouldn’t be expected.

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