Electric car Delco. These early cars were eventually withdrawn from the U.S. market. California electric automaker Tesla Motors began development in 2004 on what would become the Tesla Roadster (2008), which was first delivered to customers in 2008. The Roadster was the first highway legal serial production all-electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells, and the first production all-electric car to travel more than per charge. Tesla global sales passed 250,000 units in September 2017. The Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance achieved the milestone of 500,000 units electric vehicles sold in October 2017. Tesla sold its 200,000th Model S in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Tesla Model S time since inception than both the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf. A total of 11,813 Model S were sold in California in 2017, representing of 16.0% of the state's luxury and sports segment, ranking second after the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (12,326). Among all-electric models sold in California in 2017, the Model S listed second after the Chevrolet Bolt (13,487). An estimated 26,500 Model S cars were sold in the U.S. in 2017, down 9.1% year-on-year, but allowing the Model S to end 2017 as the best selling plug-in car in the American market for the third consecutive year. California registrations