Cars.com released its annual list of ‘Most American made’ cars Tuesday morning, and for the first time Tesla cracked the top 10, and they did it with a splash.
Tesla vehicles did not make the same list in 2019, but this year took 3 of the 10 spots with a new methodology, equaling Honda, which also had 3 cars in the top 10.
The Tesla Model S was the highest ranked, taking the #3 spot, behind the Ford Ranger and Jeep Cherokee, which took the top two spots respectively.
Right behind the Model S was the Model 3, which took the #4 spot, while the Model X rounded out Tesla’s dominance by taking the 9th spot.
According to Cars.com, the rankings are based on a number of criteria, including assembly location, percentage of US and Canadian parts, sourcing of engines and transmissions, and manufacturing employees relative to sales.
The rankings are important because as Cars.com found in a recent survey of more than 1,000 US licensed drivers, only half of the respondents even knew that Tesla’s were made in America.
The survey also found more than 70% consider how their car purchase impacts the US economy, also showing the significance of the rankings for Tesla. That consideration is even more important during the current COVID-19 pandemic, with 37% of respondents saying it increased.
You can see the full rankings on Cars.com.
