Want an American-Made Car? Tesla Now Officially Tops That Category, Too.

If you can forgive the endless social-media-fueled controversies surrounding CEO Elon Musk, Tesla is possibly the greatest American manufacturing story of the 21st century. While the electric vehicle company got its start building off of a British framework, the factories in California, Nevada and New York (not to mention the upcoming plant in Austin, Texas, where the Cybertruck will supposedly be made) have reignited interest in building goods right here in the States. 

However, just because a car is made in a U.S. factory doesn’t mean it’s 100% American-made. That’s why every year Cars.com puts together the American-Made Index (AMI), which “analyzes a range of factors to determine just how American your prospective car or truck might be,” including where the parts come from and the percentage of U.S. manufacturing workers. The latest edition was released Wednesday, as pointed out by The Drive.

The winner this year, beating out even the red-white-and-blue-blooded Ford Mustang, is the all-electric Tesla Model 3. Not only is it the first time Tesla has made it on the top of the list, it’s the first time any EV has won out in the 16-year history of the ranking. Plus, the company’s newer SUV, the Model Y, came in at number three. 

But what about the high-performance Model S (which recently got a Plaid upgrade) and the older Model X SUV? As Cars.com noted, both of those models were updated for the 2021 model year and the outlet was unable to retrieve “sufficient data” to rank them. For what it’s worth, the Model S came in at number three last year, above the Model 3, which ranked fourth (that was also the first year Tesla provided info in order to be included in the index).

Here’s the list of the top 20:

1. Tesla Model 3
2. Ford Mustang
3. Tesla Model Y
4. Jeep Cherokee
5. Chevrolet Corvette
6. Honda Ridgeline
7. Honda Odyssey
8. Honda Pilot
9. Honda Passport
10. Toyota Tundra
11. Ford Expedition, Expedition Max
12. Acura RDX
13. Acura TLX
14. Chevrolet Colorado
15. GMC Canyon
16. Jeep Grand Cherokee
17. Honda Accord
18. Toyota Avalon
19. Lexus ES
20. Lincoln Navigator, Navigator L

So what’s last on the list? Of the 90 cars included (there are more sold in the U.S., obviously, but there are some parameters for inclusion), the Honda Civic comes in at the bottom. But as Cars.com wrote, that vehicle still comes in ahead of 254 unranked models.

You can read more about the AMI and its methodology here.

More Like This

Autos

The Model S Plaid Just Shows We’re Still Waiting for a True Tesla Competitor

Autos

Why It’s So Hard for Texans to Buy a Texas-Made Tesla in Texas

Autos

Ford’s F-150 Lightning Is Winning the EV Truck War for One Simple Reason