Britta Pedersen-Pool/Getty Images
- Elon Musk expects the Tesla Model Y to be the world's best-selling car in 2022, he said Monday.
- Tesla only produces its Model Y at two factories, though two more are opening next year.
- Tesla sold 500,000 total vehicles in 2020 – far below sales for the world's best-selling individual cars.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Tesla's Model Y SUV would likely become the world's best-selling car next year, its CEO, Elon Musk, said at its earnings call Monday.
According to Forbes, Ford's F-Series was the US' best-selling vehicle in 2020, with Americans alone buying 787,422 of the pickups. In comparison, Tesla sold just under 500,000 vehicles globally that year. In 2019, the world's best-selling car was the Toyota Corolla, with sales surpassing 1.2 million, per Statistica.
Tesla doesn't release sales data for individual vehicles, but said in its earnings on Monday that it sold 182,780 Model Y and 3 cars in the first quarter of 2021. It said it planned to ramp up its vehicle sales by an average of 50% each year, and added that in 2021 it expects to grow even faster.
"We think Model Y will be the best-selling car or vehicle of any kind in the world and probably next year," Musk said during the call. "So I'm not 100% certain next year, but I think quite likely. I'd say more likely than not, that in 2022 Model Y is the best-selling car or truck of any kind in the world."
Musk reiterated his Model Y sales goals on Twitter, where he said it "seems quite likely at least based on revenue in 2022 & possibly total units in 2023."
Tesla currently sells two versions of the Model Y: a Long Range version at $50,990 and a Performance version at $60,990. It pulled its cheaper Standard Range Model Y in February, just one month after sales launched.
Tesla currently produces the Model Y SUV at its Fremont, California, and Shanghai, China, factories. It also plans to make the car at its under-construction factories in Austin and Berlin, and is due to start production and sales next year.
Zachary Kirkhorn, Tesla's CFO, said Monday that the Model Y had been given a "great reception" in China, where it started deliveries in January.
Do you have a tip you want to share? Contact Grace Dean via email ([email protected]). Always use a nonwork email.