Tesla is outselling many of its luxury rivals, but it still lags behind Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus (TSLA)

October 24, 2018 at 18:06 PM EDT

Thomson Reuters

Tesla revealed on Wednesday that it "delivered almost 70,000" cars and SUVs in the US during the third quarter of 2018.
Tesla's Q3 delivery total puts the company on par with its luxury rivals.
Audi, Acura, and Infiniti were outsold in the US by Tesla during Q3 2018.
However, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW sold more than Tesla.

Tesla revealed on Wednesday that it "delivered almost 70,000" cars and SUVs in the US during the third quarter of 2018.

"Although we only sell Model 3, Model S and Model X, our total US deliveries in Q3 were on par with total vehicle deliveries made by our long-established premium competitors, each of which has multiple models and a vast network of dealerships," the company said on its Q3 2018 investor letter.

And Tesla is, for the most part, correct in its assertion. Tesla's "almost 70,000" unit delivery puts it squarely in between the Tier One and Tier Two luxury auto brands based on US sales data provided by Kelley Blue Book.

During the third quarter, Tesla was soundly outsold by the three Tier One brands — Lexus (78,622 cars sold), Mercedes-Benz (77,656), and BMW (71,685).

However, the Palo Alto, California-based automaker did beat out Audi (59,478). In recent years, Audi's significant sales growth has earned it consideration as a junior member of the Tier One group.

None of the other major luxury brands in the US were even close to Tesla with Acura reporting 41,830 cars sold and Infiniti at 33,079.