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 These early cars were eventually withdrawn from the U.S. market.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 making the Model S the second best selling car in the segment after the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (11,684) and ahead of the BMW 5 Series (10,551). According to Wards's Auto, the Model S topped the American upper luxury segment in 2016, followed by the Mercedes S-Class (18,803) and the BMW 7-Series (12,918). An estimated 92,317 Model S cars have been sold in the United States up until December 2016, representing about 57% of Model S global sales through November 2016. Model S sales in the American market passed the 100,000th unit mark in early June 2016, achieving this milestone in less