Spot on WhiteKnight. For the iPhone though, it was about new cutting edge technology (which in itself is a draw for early adopters), but also that it addressed/solved so many services/features that a cellphone never had before.
With the Model S, it's this, and yet even more. It addresses emotional needs too. Like playing a piece in environmental assistance, or geo political reduction in foreign oil, or financial offsets of electricity vs. gas dollars spent, etc.
And whether anyone of these you really don't care about, it's in the back of your mind that it addresses them all, all good, all noble... That this car then becomes worth more than the normal premium you would pay for any other car.