Tesla Model Y May Account For ~70% Of US Tesla Sales

In our last virtual trade show, one of the participating vendors was EVANNEX, represented by cofounder and president Matt Pressman. Matt is one of my favorite people in the world to chat with and we’ve talked a handful of times about the relationship between EVANNEX product orders and Tesla vehicle deliveries. Basically, what they’ve seen is that people mostly order aftermarket products right before and right after receiving delivery of a Tesla. With their large presence in the Tesla ecosystem over the past decade and this clear trend quite visible to them, they have some of the best insight into US Tesla vehicle delivery trends — maybe the best outside of Tesla.

Knowing all of that background, I was curious to ask Matt during the virtual trade show what kind of trends they’ve been seeing lately. Matt said that, as a rough estimate, it seems that about 70% of their orders have been orders for Tesla Model Y aftermarket products.

While that is probably a bit higher than many of us would expect, it is logical. The crossover/SUV body style is much more popular these days than the sedan style. Additionally, the pricing is very similar but the Model Y offers a ton more cargo space and, of course, that easier ingress/egress. Furthermore, while there is typically notable difference in drive quality between a sedan and a crossover/SUV in the same class, everyone I’ve talked to with adequate experience driving both models has said that the Model Y drives surprisingly similar to a Model 3 — you can hardly tell the difference. That takes away the one real advantage you’d normally get from a sedan over a crossover/SUV.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on at least a few occasions in the past few years that he expected the Model Y to sell in higher volumes than the Model 3, Model S, and Model X combined. If this insight from Matt is correct, it sure is in the US!

I followed up on this topic with a Tesla salesperson (er, they aren’t “salespeople” at Tesla, but, well, of course they are). This person, who I trust to have a solid understanding of order flow in my region but wasn’t looking at any specific numbers and I don’t think has crunched the numbers, agreed that the ~70% figure sounds about right.

Again, this is genuinely a rough guesstimate and a rough guesstimate confirmation, but I feel good enough with their knowledge and guesstimating abilities to assume this percentage when I work on my next US EV sales reports.

I’m happy with our Tesla Model 3, but if I was on the market for a car right now, I think there’s a 99.9% chance I’d choose the Model Y. Heck, if I could get an awesome trade-in deal on the Model 3, I’d trade it in for a Model Y — and I’ve never been a crossover/SUV person before. As with so many other automobile matters, though, Tesla changes things.

For some more insight or thoughts on the Model Y, I recommend the following articles if you haven’t read them yet:

1. Tesla Model Y Price Drops — New Cost of Ownership vs. Lexus RX
2. Tesla Model Y Review From Owner Of Full Tesla S-3-X-Y Lineup
3. Jay Leno’s Tesla Model Y Review (Video)
4. The Ultimate Tesla Showdown: Tesla Model 3 vs. Tesla Model Y
5. Tesla Model Y & Model 3 Owner Shares 1st Thoughts On Model Y
6. Tesla Model Y vs. Model 3 — Owner & Former GM EV1 Engineer Shares Details
7. Tesla Won’t Produce Model Y Standard Range, But Will Add Model Y RWD
8. 7-Seat Tesla Model Y Production & Delivery Schedule, & 6 Top Competitors
9. Tesla Model Y Compared To Tesla Model 3, Model S, & Model X — From S3XY Owner
10. Save $39,000 to $114,000 Driving the Tesla Model Y, the World’s Best Crossover
11. New Tesla Model Y Owner Is Highly Enthusiastic (Video Review)
12. Tesla Vehicle Deliveries from 2016 to 2020 (Charts & Graphs)
13. Tesla Model Y Offers “Disconnected Bliss” On Weekend Road Trips, Outside Magazine Writes

All photos, unless otherwise stated, by Zach Shahan/CleanTechnica.