Tesla's record Model 3 sales claim in Australia was wrong, resulting in 'truth in reporting' demand by industry execs

Tesla Australia gave wrong Model 3 sales numbers to the local Electric Vehicle Council which announced such a shipments number that, if true, would have surpassed the 28-year reign of the Toyota Camry bestseller Down Under. Just a day after it reported a record 24,078 electric Tesla cars sales in Australia, the Council was forced to reckon with the actual National Transport Commission registration data and was forced to issue a retraction, blaming it on a human error by someone at Tesla:

Yesterday the Electric Vehicle Council released (electric-car) sales figures for 2021, which showed a massive leap from 2020 numbers. While the massive year-on-year leap reported was correct, there was an error in the numbers the (Electric Vehicle Council) was provided relating to Tesla deliveries. Due to a human error, the Tesla delivery figures for 2020 were erroneously added to the delivery figures for 2021 by Tesla before the figure was provided to the Electric Vehicle Council. So instead of 15,054 Tesla Model 3 deliveries in 2021, the figure reported should have been 12,094. Correcting the total Tesla deliveries (all models) reduces the total number of EVs delivered in 2021 from 24,078 to 20,665.

Long story short, Tesla didn't have the bestselling car model in Australia by a long shot, and Toyota's Camry can feel safe at the top spot now that the Model 3 sales numbers were revised down by 3000 electric vehicles. The puffed-up Tesla sales numbers incident, however, ruffled some business leaders' feathers who noted that the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries in Australia has had a "truth in reporting" car sales initiative since 2020 exactly to prevent potential PR stunts. "They need to be subject to the same counting methods as every other car brand in Australia. It's time for Tesla to grow up and stop acting like a start-up," warned a local carmaker executive.

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