Electric vehicles are rapidly moving into the mainstream. By the 2030s, most automakers and several state governments will no longer produce or allow the sale of gas-powered vehicles.
Fully battery-powered cars (as opposed to hybrids or plug-in hybrids) made up just 5.2% of total car sales in September 2022, but that's up from 2.8% a year ago. There are now almost 1.5 million EVs on the road. Based on the trajectory of other legacy tech, such as lightbulbs and home TVs, this is the tipping point at which mass adoption accelerates, Bloomberg reports.
Adoption varies by state, with North Dakota at the low end (380 EVs registered) and California claiming the top spot, in a class of its own at 563,070, according to vehicle registration data from the US Department of Energy. After California, the silver medal goes to Florida (95,640); Texas claims the bronze (80,900).
Hover over the map below to see the number of battery-powered cars in your state.
So, which cars are those early adopting Californians driving? Sales data on new EVs in 2022 shows Tesla claims 73% of the market, but more models from other brands are hitting the streets than ever. The next biggest brands are Ford, Chevrolet, and Hyundai, though each claims roughly 4%. No other brand comes close to Tesla—yet.
In the coming years, growing competition will chip away at Tesla's dominance. In the past month alone, a wide range of brands announced new EVs that will compete in price and capabilities, including Honda, GMC, Volvo, Mercedes, Cadillac, Maserati, Polestar, and Audi.
But with EV prices generally higher than their gas-powered counterparts, it's unclear how far adoption can go until costs come down.
To learn more, check out 7 Electric Cars You Can Get for Under $40,000 and How to Easily Estimate Charging Costs For an Electric Vehicle.