Tesla has built its 10 millionth electric vehicle, according to a social media post by the company early on Thursday. The milestone comes six years after the company built its one millionth vehicle.
Crossing the 10 million mark means Tesla is halfway to reaching one of the four core “product goals” that unlocks the full value of CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package, which shareholders approved last year. By 2035, Musk has to ensure the company builds 20 million vehicles, reaches 10 million active subscriptions for its “Full Self-Driving” software, delivers one million “bots,” and puts one million robotaxis on the road.
Despite a few years of intense growth on the backs of the Model 3 and Model Y, Tesla has not been able to sell 2 million vehicles in a single year. If it keeps up that pace, or slows further, it will take the company until at least the early 2030s to hit the 20 million mark.
Tesla has less competition in the United States now, though, as major automakers have pulled back from the electric vehicle market, and startups like Rivian and Lucid Motors have struggled to reach scale. Nevertheless, Tesla is still struggling in its home market. Its U.S. sales fell 13% year-over-year in the second quarter, and the company had to look to newer markets like Japan, Australia and Lithuania to court buyers.
