DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler's Ram pickup unseated General Motors' Chevrolet Silverado as the second-best selling vehicle in the U.S. during the first nine months of the year.

With a United Auto Workers strike under way that has shut down GM's pickup production, the Ram likely will beat the Silverado for the full year for the first time, according to auto sales experts.

At the end of September, the Ram had a lead of nearly 52,000 vehicles, according to company sales figures released Wednesday. So far this year, U.S. buyers snapped up 461,115 Rams, an increase of 23 percent over the same time last year. GM sold 409,316 Silverados during the first nine months, down 3.6 percent from a year ago.

Ford's F-series pickup remained the most popular vehicle in America with 662,574 sold through September, down 2.4 percent from a year ago.

Full-size pickup trucks from the three traditional Detroit automakers are usually the top-selling vehicles in America, which loves pickups. Although the places change at times on a monthly basis, normally Ford is the winner, followed by the Silverado and the Ram.

SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla's electric car sales accelerated again during the summer, but the company is still lagging behind the pace it needs to reach CEO Elon Musk's goal for the entire year.The company delivered 97,000 vehicles from July through September, more than in any other three-month period in its history. The performance increased Tesla's sales for the first nine months of the year to nearly 255,000 cars. That means it will need to deliver about 105,000 vehicles during the final three months of the year to hit the low end of Musk's sales target of 360,000 to 400,000 cars for all of 2019.The third-quarter sales numbers announced Wednesday fell below the average estimate of 99,000 vehicles among analysts polled by FactSet.Tesla's stock dropped 4 percent after the numbers came out.

NEW YORK — After high-profile flops, Microsoft is getting back into smartphones with a dual-screen Android device that won’t be out for another year.Microsoft unveiled the Surface Duo as part of a new lineup of Surface computers. It marks a reversal for a company that abandoned smartphones following lackluster demand for its own operating system and an ill-fated purchase of smart phone maker Nokia.“I believe the third time’s a charm for Microsoft and smartphones,” said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy.He said Microsoft has had a good track record with Surface devices, while the Duo’s novel design offers something new.Microsoft says the Duo makes phone calls, though it stopped short of calling it a phone.