How Tesla shines onscreen

LONDON: Not content with being the world's biggest seller of electric cars, the American automaker Tesla also happens to be the most frequently featured onscreen.

Such is the conclusion of a surprising study highlighting the electric car models that feature most prominently in movies and TV shows.

According to a new study from the UK automotive marketplace Auto Trader, the Tesla Model S is the electric car that has appeared most frequently onscreen in recent years. Generally speaking, the American carmaker's models are all widely acclaimed by filmmakers.

The study reveals that the Tesla Model S has already appeared in 419 movies, TV shows and music videos.

You might have seen it in "Kingsman: The Secret Service," "50 Shades of Grey" and "Retribution," for example. Plus, the car will soon be starring in "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley."

In second place is a pioneer in the field, the Nissan LEAF. It has featured in "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and "Thor: Love and Thunder." In third place comes the Tesla Model 3, featured in "Fast & Furious X" and "The Simpsons."

Tesla is also the manufacturer that sells the most electric cars in the world today. In 2023 alone, 1.8 million Teslas were sold. As such, its onscreen prominence is perhaps not so surprising. Its challenger, China's BYD, is still a long way from stealing Tesla's star role onscreen!

Top 10 electric cars in order of onscreen appearances

1 Tesla Model S, 419

2 Nissan LEAF, 194

3 Tesla Model 3, 167

4 Tesla Model X, 149

5 BMW i3, 143

6 Renault Zoe, 79

7 Tesla Roadster, 46

7 Hyundai Ioniq, 46

9 Tesla Model Y, 38

10 Audi e-tron, 26

For this study, a list of over 100 of the world's most popular electric car models was compiled and cross-referenced with data as of November 2023 from the Internet Movie Car Database, which lists the appearances of all car models in movies and TV shows.