Tesla out sells its competitions sans one

Tesla outsells Mercedes, Audi, BMW and Lexus (with one caveat)

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James Lipman

Tesla Model S is now the second best selling model in the large luxury market segment.

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Jon Xavier

Web Producer- Silicon Valley Business Journal

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Electric vehicle opponents like Sarah Palin might not want to admit it, but Tesla has one distinction over failed competitor Fisker — its cars sell.

According to Green Car Reports, the Tesla Model S is now the second best selling sedan in the U.S. "Large Luxury" market segment. It delivered 4,750 cars in the first quarter, more than the BMW 7-series (2,338), the Mercedes-Benz S Class (3,077), the Audi A8 (1,462) or the Lexus LS (2,860).

Only one sedan in the segment outsold the Model S: the 2013 Cadillac XTS, which sold 7,130 units in Q1.
Those are good numbers, and surprising. Frankly, they might even be great numbers, given that the Model S is a new brand fighting an uphill battle for recognition in two tough markets — luxury cars and electric vehicles.
But they do come with an important caveat: While the Model S is outselling any one model in its class, Tesla's total sales are still dwarfed by virtually every other automaker. The Audi A8, for example, might have only sold 1,462 units in Q1, but Audi sold 139,310.
Tesla is off to a good start, but it still has a ways to go before it's in the big leagues.

Jon Xavier is Web Producer at the Business Journal. His phone number is 408.299.1826.