Reuters: Sales of the Model S through May were 8,850

[Jack6591]

Somewhat unexpectedly, both the Leaf and the Volt have been outsold this year by the Tesla Model S, a battery-powered luxury sedan that is more than twice the price of the Leaf and nearly double that of the Volt. Sales of the Model S through May were 8,850, making it the best-selling plug-in car in the United States despite a starting price of $70,890.
Tesla has been more successful than older, more established automakers in selling EVs, in part, because it appeals to a niche group of tech-savvy, status-conscious buyers, said Stover.
"This is the same set that will buy a Ferrari," he said.
Tesla also has been able to alleviate such buyer concerns about EVs as short driving range, long charging times and lack of charging stations.
Car dealers for other brands that sell plug-in vehicles face a "chicken and egg" scenario, said Detroit-area auto analyst Alan Baum. Consumers eventually will become more comfortable with the inherent limitations of many EVs once they spend more time in the vehicles, but dealers are still struggling to get drivers into the cars, he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/12/us-autos-ev-future-idUSBRE95B17T20130612

 

[brianman]

http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2013/06/03/elon-musk-has-to-sell-540000-teslas-a-year/
"Elon Musk has to sell 540,000 Teslas a year"

Here's my new title for the article:
"Antony Currie has to look 9 years in the future to find a reason to complain about Tesla's stock price"

- - - Updated - - -

Regarding the Reuters article, they cite HybridCars.com but I didn't see any citations where they got the data from.
http://www.hybridcars.com/may-2013-dashboard/

Perhaps my curiosity isn't high enough to find it.

 

[adiggs]

Somewhat unexpectedly, both the Leaf and the Volt have been outsold this year by the Tesla Model S, a battery-powered luxury sedan that is more than twice the price of the Leaf and nearly double that of the Volt. Sales of the Model S through May were 8,850, making it the best-selling plug-in car in the United States despite a starting price of $70,890.
Tesla has been more successful than older, more established automakers in selling EVs, in part, because it appeals to a niche group of tech-savvy, status-conscious buyers, said Stover.
"This is the same set that will buy a Ferrari," he said.
Tesla also has been able to alleviate such buyer concerns about EVs as short driving range, long charging times and lack of charging stations.
Car dealers for other brands that sell plug-in vehicles face a "chicken and egg" scenario, said Detroit-area auto analyst Alan Baum. Consumers eventually will become more comfortable with the inherent limitations of many EVs once they spend more time in the vehicles, but dealers are still struggling to get drivers into the cars, he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/12/us-autos-ev-future-idUSBRE95B17T20130612

Interesting - I didn't realize that I was a "tech-savvy (ok - that works) status-conscious buyer". I like being lumped in with people that would buy a Ferrari by the author, but the reality is I'm in the set that doesn't particularly care about cars, and wouldn't have invested the energy attempting to justify even a 25 or $30k car. Not because I can't afford it, but because cars are a necessity of modern living, and they get me from A to B.

This continues to be an angle that media and many people miss that makes Tesla different from the rest of the industry (EV car manufacturing) that they participate in. Whatever exactly makes Tesla different, they're not only reeling in Ferrari buyers, they are also bringing a significant number of buyers into the luxury car segment that would otherwise not be in the segment (by choice rather than by financial restriction).

So while I'm not somebody that will buy a Ferrari, I AM a new Roadster owner, and intend to be driving Model X sooner than later.

 

[maekuz]

Regarding the Reuters article, they cite HybridCars.com but I didn't see any citations where they got the data from.
May 2013 Dashboard - HybridCars.com

Perhaps my curiosity isn't high enough to find it.

Its mentioned in the April 2013 Dashboard:

Our numbers for Tesla are estimated but note the Model S is leading the “Plug-in Electric” chart for the month and year to date, due in no small part to Tesla having accrued a sizable backlog of orders thus its sales are only limited by production capacity. If the company could produce more, it’s not a stretch to conjecture we could see something like 3,000 or 4,000 Model S sales for a couple months or more but of course that’s a moot statement; it will not happen due to production capability, but this is what we have with the phenomenon happening right now in Fremont, Calif.

April 2013 Dashboard - HybridCars.com

 

[DJ Frustration]

I don't understand why this could be bad news. We're outselling our competition. If you subtract 4,900 cars delivered in 1Q from the "through May" number of 8,850 you get 3,950 cars delivered through 2/3rds of the 2nd Quarter. If they keep the same production as April and May, they would finish the quarter at 5,265 or 765 over their guidance for 2Q.

 

[deonb]

Sales of the Model S through May were 8,850, making it the best-selling plug-in car in the United States despite a starting price of $70,890.
Tesla has been more successful than older, more established automakers in selling EVs, in part, because it appeals to a niche group of tech-savvy, status-conscious buyers, said Stover.
"This is the same set that will buy a Ferrari," he said.

I can haz Ferrari for $70'000??

 

[wycolo]

> I can haz Ferrari for $70'000?? [deonb]

Don't hold yer breath, but with the S Sirens singing their song . . .
--

 

[adiggs]

I can haz Ferrari for $70'000??

Yeah, but even if you could, would you really?

 

[deonb]

Yeah, but even if you could, would you really?

I got smoked by a car with a Frunk and Falcon wing doors last month...


And by that I mean a Ferrari Enzo. What a noisy, polluting, gas guzzling, hugely impractical, absolutely magnificent work of art.

If I can have it for $70'000, I'll buy it and put in my home office to look at .


PS: Yeah, yeah, I know the Enzo has gull wing and not falcon wing doors.

 

[electrictorque]

One of the big problems for EV adoption is this:

"Obstacles to EV sales include getting shoppers just to try an electric or hybrid car, easing their qualms about such things as having enough charging stations and, for the salesman, the extra time and effort it takes to close a deal."

There is no incentive for a Dealer to sell electric cars. and this makes Elon 200% right.

 

[Jack6591]

I'm curious how Reuters came up with sales number?

 

[maekuz]

They are estimates from hybridcars.com

Source: May 2013 Dashboard - HybridCars.com (you will have to scroll down a bit...)

 

[EarlyAdopter]

I would never buy a Ferarri, or Lamborghini, or Masserati.

I have bought BMWs, Audis, and could have Mercedes. The Model S appeals to someone like me by comparing favorably to those cars, particularly when you take into total cost of ownership.

This author says "bought by people who buy Ferarris." I'd say it's "bought by people who buy premium German cars and can do math."

 

[evmile]

I would never buy a Ferarri, or Lamborghini, or Masserati.

I have bought BMWs, Audis, and could have Mercedes. The Model S appeals to someone like me by comparing favorably to those cars, particularly when you take into total cost of ownership.

This author says "bought by people who buy Ferarris." I'd say it's "bought by people who buy premium German cars and can do math."

In fact Elon Musk says Porsche is his model for profitability and the Tesla site often refers to a BMW 5 series comparing to the Model S. I think Tesla owners are more practical about their cars than Ferrari owners.

 

[TI Sailor]

If the author spent even a modicum of time on this and the TM official web site, s/he would read again and again, "I've never spent half this much on a car", "I've never spent more than $35,000...", etc, etc. I can't remember ever reading, "I was trying to decide between a Ferarri and the Model S and..."

 

[johnnyS]

I wish we were part of the Ferrari set. I remember when we went on the factory tour/party in October 2011. My wife was concerned about feeling out of place driving our old Honda. At the event we noticed that most of the cars were older models--it appeared people were holding onto their old cars waiting for the model S. The model S market is much broader than the Ferrari market. There is story after story on the forums about people really stretching beyond their comfort zone to buy the model S.

 

[dadaleus]

Confused. How does this jive with current deliveries having VIN #s in the 14xxx's? I assumed sales should be closer to that count.

 

[jerry33]

Confused. How does this jive with current deliveries having VIN #s in the 14xxx's? I assumed sales should be closer to that count.

No one said their estimate was correct

 

[evmile]

Confused. How does this jive with current deliveries having VIN #s in the 14xxx's? I assumed sales should be closer to that count.

Actually my VIN # is 15587 so they are in the 15 thousands.

 

[dadaleus]

I've always found it baffling that the analysts don't just look here. TMC is an awesome resource for waitlist and delivery status.