Tesla delivered its 1 millionth vehicle in 2020.
The milestone came during Tesla’s rapid expansion from a niche electric-sports-car maker into a mass-market manufacturer. Tesla began customer deliveries with the Roadster in 2008, followed by the Model S in 2012, the Model X in 2015 and the Model 3 in 2017. The Model 3’s higher-volume production was the main force behind the rapid rise in cumulative output and deliveries.
There is a small terminology distinction behind this milestone. Tesla produced its millionth electric car in March 2020, and the vehicle was a red Model Y built at the Fremont factory. Company filings subsequently stated that Tesla had included its one millionth cumulatively delivered vehicle in the second quarter of 2020. Both milestones therefore belong to the same year, which is why 2020 is the canonical answer.
Tesla ended 2020 with roughly half a million vehicles delivered during that year alone. The Model Y also began deliveries in March 2020, adding a new crossover body style to the company’s expanding lineup and helping support its next stage of growth.