Tesla at 6 million cars: What it’s accomplished, what it hasn’t

Ahead of the release of preliminary Q1 2024 production and delivery figures, expected next week, it’s now official: Tesla has delivered more than 6 million vehicles since 2008, every one a battery-electric vehicle.

Its 5 million total last September got a lot of attention. But 6 million is more important, because it cements Tesla as the first company in all but 100 years to achieve a remarkable milestone.

Nearly 10 years ago, Green Car Reports suggested Elon Musk had to deliver 6 million Teslas to become the highest-volume startup carmaker in the U.S. since the 1920s. That number today equates to what was achieved by the last U.S. startup to achieve significant volume production—more than 60 years ago. That would be Kaiser, a name now all but forgotten. Starting in 1945, Kaiser-Frazer (later Kaiser, then Kaiser-Jeep) built more than 700,000 cars.

Tesla Motors production line for Tesla Model S, Fremont, California

Here’s how we got to that 6 million: In 1950, U.S. vehicle sales of 8 million cars represented 80 percent of total global production of just under 10 million. The market today is nine times that size—almost 90 million vehicles a year, according to J.D. Power. U.S. sales for 2023, at 15.6 million in 2023, are at just 17 percent of that total, with China far and away the world’s largest car market. So Kaiser’s 700,000-plus (over 10 years) roughly scales up to Tesla’s 6 million (over 15 years).

With this latest milestone ticked off, it’s a good time to look at the things that Tesla has accomplished since 2008—and some of the things it hasn’t.

What Tesla Has Done

The company has launched and built hundreds of thousands of its first two models (2012 Model S, 2015 Model X) and millions of its smaller, less expensive pair (2017 Model 3, 2020 Model Y). Its fifth model, the 2024 Cybertruck, is ramping up to what would widely be called mass-production levels. But beyond those products themselves, Tesla has logged other notable accomplishments that have transformed the world’s vehicle business.

2017 Tesla Model 3