Tesla Model Y Set to Take Top Spot as World's Best Selling Car in 2023

By Kevin Armstrong
The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are in the Top 10 vehicles sold worldwide
The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are in the Top 10 vehicles sold worldwide
Tesla

Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, once said, "I say something, and then it usually happens. Maybe not on schedule, but it usually happens." In April 2021, Musk predicted that the Model Y would be the world's best-selling vehicle. He wasn't sure if it would happen in 2022, but he was confident the electric SUV would take the global crown from Toyota's Corolla in 2023.

Moving on Up

According to a report from Focus to Move, the Model Y is now the fourth best-selling vehicle worldwide after an astonishing 88 percent jump from 2021 to 2022. There were 759,000 Model Ys sold last year, just 28,000 units behind the third-place Ford F-150 which has been the best-selling truck for the previous 46 years. Toyota claimed the top two spots, with the RAV4 at 870,000 and the Corolla selling 1.12 million.

The runway is clear for the Model Y to vie for the world's best-selling car title in 2023. There are three critical elements to achieve the goal: capacity, demand and competition.

Capacity

First, capacity. To reach the top spot, the Model Y will need to increase its sales by approximately 60% compared to 2022, which is a very achievable goal, considering both the Giga Texas and Giga Berlin factories aim to produce 500,000 cars per year. During Tesla's Q4 earnings call, Elon Musk said Tesla plans to produce about 1.8 million vehicles in 2023, up about 37% from 2022. Musk later added that Tesla may be able to reach 2 million vehicles in 2023, which would be an increase of 52% over its 2022 numbers.

Demand

Second, demand is there. In the wake of the recent price drops, Bank of America predicts Tesla's volume to jump 53 percent, up from its original forecast for 17% growth. Also, Musk said during the fourth quarter earnings call that the company is receiving the most orders year to date in its history. Plus, the price tag of the Model Y and Model 3 is now very close. As a result, many buyers may consider getting into the slightly larger Model Y over the Model 3.

Competition

Thirdly, the competition. Toyota's Corolla is half the price of the Model Y. Therefore, to grab the top spot in the world, the Corolla will have to come down a few pegs. As the manufacturer is playing catch up on the EV market, perhaps the bZ4X will take away from Corolla's typical buyers.

Top 5 Cars Sold Worldwide

Below is a list of the top 5 vehicles sold worldwide, as compiled by Focus2Move. It's not clear whether Focus2Move includes used cars in their figures or if they include sales for vehicles that have yet to be delivered.

Model Units Sold Pct Change
1. Toyota Corolla 1,120,000 -2.2%
2. Toyota RAV4 871,220 -13.7%
3. Ford F-Series 786,303 -8.8%
4. Tesla Model Y 758,792 +88.5%
5. Toyota Camry 676,845 -2.7%

Giga Small Haus - A Demo Home Powered by Solar and Powerwall 3

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Tesla recently showed off Giga Small Haus, an interesting new display project hosted at Giga Berlin. The small new house is located just outside the main entrance of Tesla’s Giga Berlin factory, with a Quicksilver Model Y parked inside.

Giga Small Haus is powered only by solar and Powerwall 3 - disconnected from the local grid and from Giga Berlin itself. It serves as a live demonstration of Tesla Solar and Tesla’s Powerwall battery backup.

Giga Small Haus

The centerpiece of the display is a Model Y in Quicksilver - a beautiful pick for a beautifully lit house. However, that’s not the real focus here - it's the Powerwall and Gateway on the wall.

The Powerwall is the focus of Giga Small Haus, and there’s a display with some additional information on the wall. Part of the display also includes a screen that displays the current output of the Powerwall itself versus the consumption of Giga Small Haus, as well as the input from solar.

The interior exhibit of Giga Small Haus
The interior exhibit of Giga Small Haus
Not a Tesla App

The text on the exhibit is divided into several sections. Here’s a translated and edited version of what we can see from Tesla’s images. Some additional text is obscured. If someone visits Giga Small Haus, let us know.

Powerwall

Powerwall is a home battery system that stores energy from solar panels, the electrical grid, or during off-peak hours and powers your home during the day or during a power outage. 

With Powerwall, you can use self-generated solar energy during the day and night, thus avoiding high electricity costs. You can also store excess energy produced during sunny periods for use during times of low production or power outages.

Key Features

Energy Storage: Powerwall stores excess energy from solar panels or the grid for later use or during power outages.

Backup Power: In the event of a power outage, Powerwall automatically switches to battery power to ensure continuous power supply.

Integration: Powerwall can be seamlessly integrated with existing solar systems and other power sources.

Scalability: Multiple Powerwalls can be installed to meet higher energy storage needs.

Smart Energy Management: Powerwall works with Tesla's software to optimize energy consumption and reduce costs.

How Powerwall Works

Storage: During the day, when solar panels produce more energy than needed, the excess is stored in Powerwall.

Usage: At night or during times of low solar production, the stored energy is used to power the home, reducing reliance on the grid.

Backup: During a power outage, Powerwall automatically provides power to critical circuits, ensuring continuous operation of essential appliances.

Benefits

Cost Savings: By storing and using solar energy, you can reduce your electricity bills.

Reliability: Provides backup power during outages, ensuring your home remains powered.

Sustainability: Promotes the use of renewable energy by storing excess solar production for later use.

Overall, Giga Small Haus is an interesting real-life demo of what Powerwall and Solar can accomplish. It would be neat if Tesla built more of these displays - perhaps near major Delivery and Service Centers and at Giga Texas, Fremont, Giga Shanghai, and other facilities. Many Tesla owners have yet to learn about and experience some of Tesla’s Energy products.

Tesla Adds Acceleration Boost Option for 2024 Model 3

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Tesla has added the Acceleration Boost option to the Tesla store for owners of the 2024 Model 3 Long Range - specifically owners in Australia and China. Acceleration Boost is an upgrade that provides a significant performance boost, drastically narrowing the performance gap between the Long Range and Performance versions of the same model.

This upgrade will likely become available in Europe, Canada, and the United States in the next few days as Tesla updates its shops globally.

Acceleration Boost

This new Acceleration Boost is retailing for $3,000 AUD, or approximately $2,000 USD. That’s the same price for current owners of older Model 3 or Model Y Long Range vehicles, which all have the option to purchase Acceleration Boost through the shop.

The boost provides improved 0-100km/h (0-60mph) performance, bumping the 2024 Model 3 LR from 4.4s to 3.8s. The 2024 Performance version comes in at a blazing fast 2.9 seconds, so while it isn’t equivalent to just buying a performance variant in the first place, it is still a noticeable and significant upgrade.

Performance variants also come with a different front fascia vent for cooling, performance drive units, sport seats, adaptive suspension, 20-inch wheels, and Track Mode V3. That’s a significant number of additional features in the $10,000 USD price difference between the Long Range and Performance versions.

Should You Buy It?

If you’ve purchased a Long Range model and are itching to go just that little bit faster at every red light, this is the upgrade for you. It previously came with the cost of slightly reducing vehicle range, but the Tesla store doesn’t make a note of reduced range this time around. The 2023 Model 3 and Model Y Long Range models had an efficiency loss of about 5% due to the additional always-available acceleration and cooling. 

You could drive in Chill mode to mostly negate that efficiency loss, but what’s the fun in driving in Chill when you just got Acceleration Boost? Anyhow, the shop listing for the 2024 variant doesn’t include this detail, so it's possible Tesla may have worked some more engineering magic.

Overall, if you’ve got the $3,000 AUD burning a hole in your pocket, some Tesla referral credits sitting around, or just want to go faster, it's definitely an upgrade many users find valuable.

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