Tesla‘s sales dominance now transcends the EV market. The company’s Model Y crossover SUV was the best-selling vehicle in the world during the first quarter of 2023, according to Motor1.com. This doesn’t just mark the first time that a Tesla has earned that distinction; it’s the first time any pure electric car has topped the global sales rankings period. Related Stories Tesla Reaching the top spot in the global sales charts will be especially satisfying considering how last year ended. Tesla sold 747,500 Model Y crossovers in 2022. That figure was a gigantic 91 percent increase over the previous year’s sales number, but it was only enough to earn the EV third place in the year-end global sales rankings. Beating it were the RAV4 (1.02 million units) and the Corolla (991,500). The year may not be even half over at this point, but Tesla’s most popular model looks in good shape to end it as the best-selling vehicle in the world, especially when you take into account recent sales trends. The Model Y’s ascendance to the top of the sales charts may come as a surprise to some, but there’s at least one person who saw it coming—Elon Musk. Last August, the EV maker’s CEO claimed the crossover would become the best-selling car in the world in 2023. Of course, the executive has had a hand in making sure his prediction came true. In addition to drastically expanding the brand’s global reach in recent years, he’s also overseen multiple price cuts across the Tesla lineup during the first half of the year. Authors