Here's one owner who bought it because it's the first practical EV more than because it's cool and fast. I don't want to increase demand for gasoline, which mostly benefits Arab countries, Iran, and Russia. And I don't give a rip about cup holders or door pockets. Not only that, but I prefer Tesla's interior to Cadillac, and the buying process for a Tesla is much superior. So much for your armchair market research into why people buy Teslas.
Doesn't disprove my assertions in the least.
I never discounted idealist or ideologues. They are maybe 10% of current Tesla buyers and tend to post here and at Tesla's own site.The support of idealist and ideologues was absolutely crucial to launch Tesla. But that is not the majority of buyers. That is maybe 5k buyers per year. The majority of car buyers are not idealist or ideologues. Selling to this niche will not transition the world to sustainable transportation. It just makes a profitable boutique automaker.
To transition the world to sustainable transportation EV makers will need to match features and functionality in each model's price class.
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Again, stop. If asked many of those people who fought seatbelts (as an example) they always had plenty of reasons why they a) didn't want to be 'benefited', and b) didn't think it was a 'benefit'. But lets just go down that rabbit hole - I'll go on record as saying not having cupholders benefits all those people who are easily distracted and thusly aren't paying close enough attention to the road when reaching for that drink, when accidently spilling it on themselves, when accidently dropping it, and when putting it back in the cupholders. See! Not having cupholders in the car is a 'benefit' to people and I haven't even mentioned the dry cleaning savings, the water savings not having to wash their clothes, the time savings not having to clean the inside of their cars...
Stop the nonsense. Seatbelts were a benefit to individual owners. Even if they did not see the value or want them. That is were education came in. But the fact they were benefits to people does not change.
The arguments that a lack of cupholders is a benefit is pure and utter nonsense. And the fig leaf of an argument dissipates as Auto Pilot improves.
Ahahahahahaha! Off the top of my head....I'm pretty sure we've all paid more for less gas at one point in time. Indeed, I'm pretty sure this week I paid more for a tank of gas than I did last week.
You did not chose to pay more for gas versus an alternative for the external benefits.
Lots of people have purchased the Model S for its environmental benefits and while I've not done the research to find the exact number (and who really cares, really?) there are videos of people expressing the environmental benefits of the Model S. Again, off the top of my head - just someone tell the whole word on FB that they just received their vegan Model S.
Not the majority. And there are at least 50 videos of Tesla acceleration or auto pilot functionality for every one extolling the environmental benefits.
It's always fun to make up a story and then guess at the change in outcome. Unfortunately, there's reality. There is no Cadillac to compete with Model S, so Tesla sales are what they are. :wink:
Basically, the mountain your trying to scale is really just a molehill.
Basically, it is fun to ignore reality. The reality of the market place, BEV incentives, and ICEv disincentives to change those outcomes are what they are.
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Several polls here have revealed that Tesla buyers are not typical luxury car buyers. I traded a Fiat for my Tesla because it was the first practical BEV. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it also had incredible performance and style. Yes it could have more cupholders but that's way down the list. I would never buy a Cadillac.
Tesla owners that post on TMC are not typical Tesla owners. None of the automotive enthusiast websites represent the typical buyer.
People like saying they buy products for the environmental benefits. It makes them a good citizen of the world. What they buy and options they chose does not correlate with these words. Tesla is continuously surprised by how many people chose luxury and performance options. Elon himself believed this would be a tiny minority and that people would buy the low end models in order to save money, both on the purchase and cost of operation. But ASP is still over $106k because people load up on luxury and performance options.
