EVwire brief: Tesla sold more electric vehicles in the United States than all other EV brands combined in the third quarter of 2026, with the company capturing an estimated 54.0% of the U.S. EV market.
Tesla sold an estimated 144,094 EVs during the quarter, while the rest of the market combined accounted for 118,555 of the 262,649 EVs sold in the country. Year to date, Tesla has sold 386,194 EVs in the U.S., giving it a 52.9% share of the market.
Tesla's dominance extended to individual models. The Model Y remained America's best-selling EV with 99,037 units in Q3, accounting for 37.2% of all EV sales. The Model 3 followed with 40,346 units, or 15.1% of the market.
This means that the Model Y alone outsold every other EV brand in the U.S. during the quarter. The two vehicles also rank No. 1 and No. 2 in U.S. EV sales year to date, with 262,491 and 106,962 units, respectively.
Here are the ten best-selling EVs in the U.S. in Q3 2026, based on Cox's estimates:
Rank | Model | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | YoY | Q3 share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tesla Model Y | 99,037 | 114,897 | -13.8% | 37.2% |
2 | Tesla Model 3 | 40,346 | 53,857 | -25.1% | 15.1% |
3 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 10,382 | 21,999 | -52.8% | 3.9% |
4 | Rivian EDV500/700 | 8,469 | 2,639 | +220.9% | 3.2% |
5 | Toyota bZ | 7,391 | 3,015 | +145.1% | 2.8% |
6 | Rivian R1S | 5,582 | 8,184 | -31.8% | 2.1% |
7 | Ford Mustang Mach-E | 5,574 | 20,177 | -72.4% | 2.1% |
8 | Kia EV9 | 5,394 | 7,510 | -28.2% | 2.0% |
9 | Honda Prologue | 4,882 | 20,236 | -75.9% | 1.8% |
10 | Cadillac Optiq | 4,550 | 4,886 | -6.9% | 1.7% |
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Tesla's Q3 sales were down 19.7% year over year, a much smaller decline than the overall market's. Among other automakers, Rivian (19,239), Toyota (12,904), Cadillac (12,358) and Hyundai (12,185) rounded out the top five EV brands for the quarter.
Total U.S. EV sales reached an estimated 262,649 units in Q3, up 6.1% from Q2 but down 39.5% from Q3 2025, which was the best quarter ever for EV sales in the country. EVs made up about 6.4% of all new-vehicle sales, up from 5.8% in Q2.
Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of Industry Insights at Cox Automotive, said the U.S. EV market is starting to stabilize after a difficult stretch:
What we're seeing now is a market finding its footing again.
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Context:
Tesla has held more than half of the U.S. EV market for most of 2026. In Q2, Cox estimated that Tesla sold 124,800 EVs for a 50.5% share of the market. The Model Y and Model 3 ranked America's two best-selling EVs in the second quarter.
Tesla's share climbed even higher in July, when Cox's EV Market Monitor showed the company capturing roughly 55% of U.S. EV sales. The Model Y alone accounted for about 37% of the market at the time.
Here's Cox's full Q3 2026 EV Sales Report:
Source: Cox Automotive press release, Q3 2026 EV Sales Report
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