Yes, Tesla is an American car company. Even though the Model S comes out of a factory in California, though, it doesn't have as many domestic parts as some Fords or even Toyotas. That's going to change soon.
Quartz reports that once the Gigafactory starts supplying batteries to all of Tesla's cars made in California, the American parts content index on those vehicles could reach 90 percent. That's better than the current leader, the Ford F-150, and even the Toyota Camry – both of which have routinely had some of the highest rates of American-sourced parts among new vehicles.
It's debatable how "American" a car has to be to be, but considering even the most American cars usually top out around 70 percent domestic parts content, it's interesting that analysts estimate Tesla could reach 90 percent once the Gigafactory is up and running.
So the most American car made could soon be an electric sedan from California, and not a pickup truck from Michigan or a Japanese-branded sedan from Kentucky. How times have changed.
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