Another anomaly here. It has amazed me how male-dominated this board and the one on the TM website is. I guess it goes with the automotive territory and I can't exactly say that I've ever posted on another car forum before. But then again, I've never been nearly this excited about a car! I asked for a deposit on a Model S for Christmas last year (2010) and then gave myself an upgrade to a Sig for Christmas this year. Actually, I didn't give the other deposit up - we're holding two (Sig 731 and Prod 2790) in case my husband gets jealous and wants one too. I'm going to the X reveal on Thursday with my husband (a new car reveal is a first for us - what fun!) so there may be some horse trading down the road if the X appeals to us!
I think the Model S is going to be a fantastic car for women and have to believe that women will make up a significant percentage of purchasers. No one likes pumping gas, but I think that women probably dislike it more than men. Just smelly, dirty and nasty. I'm going to be thrilled to never go to another gas station again! The jump seats for kids in the back make it attractive for moms with little kids. I find the lines beautiful and not too masculine. I currently drive a Prius (and a Land Rover when we go to the mountains, or have to haul something big or a lot of kids around) and I am SO sick of it. It's very boring and it doesn't help that about every third car on the road where I live seems to be a Prius. Can't wait for my Model S!
I know this forum thread is outdated but I'll revive it.
I am a woman, am buying the Model S myself, and will be the primary driver when it arrives hopefully in late February 2014. While I'm not a gear head, I've always loved learning about cars and going to car shows. I've always ogled cars on the road and wished I drove a nicer or cooler car (I drive a Prius V now, and my hubby has a Prius, and we have a minivan that we use if all 6 of us — we and our 4 kids — have to go somewhere together).
My husband has zero interest in cars. Never has. He isn't surprised that I'm getting a MS knowing that I'm the early adopter between the two of us, but he is a bit skeptical about the future of Tesla and isn't convinced that the supercharger network will be built to the extent that it's supposed to be. He told me that I need to be prepared to never be able to take my MS on a road trip should the network not pan out. He was duly impressed by the loaner we were able to keep for a weekend, though, and admitted it was an awesome car.
I owned a new 2013 loaded Volvo XC60 last year for a short 4 months before trading it in for a Prius V because it only got 15 mpg. That was the most expensive car I had ever owned and I loved it, but I was spending $70/week on gas, which was insane. I absolutely love getting decent gas mileage in my Prius, but as @StephRob wrote, the Prius is about as boring and utilitarian as a car can get. It has zero fun or cool factor. But I don't mind pumping gas at all.
So even though I wanted a nice luxury car again, I couldn't justify buying one that got worse mileage than my Prius. Enter the Model S. Problem solved. The MS cost double what my Volvo cost, and much more than I would ever have considered spending on any car. But I'll call it my pre-mid-life crisis purchase.