The last time an American car manufacturer had a best-seller in California was likely in the 1990s. Tesla broke that long losing streak.

I say “likely” because the data isn’t clear for California at that time. But living in California for 25 years, it’s clear to me (or anyone) that Japanese brands, after establishing a beachhead in California in the 1960s, ultimately conquered the Golden State car market, the largest in the U.S.*

“Japanese brands won California by pairing rock solid reliability with fuel-efficient innovations like the Prius, offering a practical solution to the state’s high gas prices and long commutes,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds. “While Detroit focused on high-profit trucks, they missed a shift in local values.”

California has always had plenty of nerdy green-leaning buyers. The runaway success of the Toyota Prius in 2004-2008 attests to this. “California drivers are quick to embrace new technology," Brian Maas, CNCDA President, told me in an email, adding that Japanese automakers met that need. Then Tesla showed up. First with the aspirational (pricey) Model S in 2012. Then, in 2017, Tesla mainstreamed the Model S with the more affordable Model 3, surpassing the erstwhile eco-warrior favorite Prius. And the Model 3 appealed to tech nerds because it was packed with software-upgradeable tech like Autopilot and FSD . The Model Y – which is based on the Model 3 – then took it to the next level by appealing to a broader market and became a perennial California bestseller.

The Japanese And German Swap Out

In 2014, my community in Los Angeles (about 400 homes) was mostly Japanese and German brands with a smattering of Detroit pickups and muscle cars. Twelve years later, Tesla has terraformed the car landscape. My community is now awash in Model Y and Model 3 with some Cybertruck, Model X, and Model S. The upshot: Tesla managed to displace many Japanese and German cars in my community — a feat that has proved beyond the reach of traditional American brands like General Motors and Ford in California.

And this happened all over Los Angeles. Homeowners in a neighborhood that I used to drive through in Bel Air traded in foreign brands for Teslas seemingly overnight. I walked through that neighborhood one day and counted 23 Teslas – and those were just the ones parked on the street, presumably many more were in garages.

To me, this is kind of a miracle. I lived in Japan for ten years when the market was almost completely dominated (controlled) by domestic Japanese brands ( and still is ). Then, ironically, I came back to California in the 90s to a market also dominated by Japanese cars. So, it’s refreshing to see an American car brand finally give the Japanese manufacturers some real competition in California.

*The Ford F-150 pickup has been a perennial best-seller in the U.S. and sold well in California but not taken the top spot and Ford overall has not dominated in California like Japanese brands.

The Model 3 and Model Y often rank near the top as the most most affordable cars to run in the U.S. based the average annual costs for energy (fuel), among other things.