While Elon Musk made headlines this week for his successful bid to buy Twitter, news about rising competition for his Tesla electric vehicle company flew largely under the radar.

                By                    Vance Cariaga

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Tesla still dominates the EV market, accounting for about 75% of EVs sold during the 2022 first quarter, according to the latest data from Kelley Blue Book (KBB). That’s up from a 70% share the previous year. Tesla’s Model Y SUV and Model 3 sedan made up 68% of the market all by themselves.

But as KBB noted, “Tesla’s rear-view mirror is getting crowded.” Americans bought almost twice as many EVs in the first quarter of 2022 as they did in the first quarter of 2021, and EVs made up more than 5% of total car sales for the first time. Perhaps more importantly, consumers bought 32 different models during the first three months of 2022 vs. 18 during the first three months of 2021. KBB expects at least 50 different models to be on the market by the end of the year.

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Tesla’s main advantage is that its vehicles got a years-long head start on the rest of the field under the stewardship of Musk, the company’s founder and CEO.  But as more automakers launch their own electric vehicles, Tesla “is in for a tougher fight than it has seen before,” KBB said.

One notable rival is the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which was recently named the 2022 World Car of the Year. The starting price of the Ioniq 5 is $44,000, well below the $64,990 starting price for the Tesla Model Y. Hyundai vehicles also are still eligible for the full federal $7,500 electric-vehicle tax rebate no longer offered on Tesla products.

Tesla faces additional competition from new types of EVs, including electric pickup trucks. During the first quarter of 2022, 99 customers took delivery of GMC’s Hummer EV truck, while 43 received a Rivian R1T pickup. Ford is nearing production of its F-150 Lightning electric truck. Tesla’s own Cybertruck should start production sometime next year.

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A list of the top 10 selling EVs during the first quarter follows.

  • Tesla Model Y.Tesla Model 3.Ford Mustang Mach-E.Tesla Model X.Hyundai Ioniq 5.Kia EV6.Tesla Model S.Nissan Leaf.Kia Niro.Audi e-Tron.