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 These early cars were eventually withdrawn from the U.S. market.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.
Plug-in electric vehicles in the United States plug-in cars available in the American market under 21 brands or marques, plus several models of electric motorcycles, utility vans and neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs). , the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid is the all-time best selling plug-in electric car with 148,556 units (both generations), followed by the Tesla Model S all-electric car with about 138,000, and the Nissan Leaf with 126,747. The Model S has been the best selling plug-in car in the U.S. for three consecutive years, from 2015 to 2017. , the United States had 12,203 charging stations across the country, led by California with 2,976 stations (24.4%).