How is a premium sedan different than a luxury automobile? How is a premium sedan equivalent to a Performance EV as John limited the Tesla segment. Performance EV is a sub-set of premium sedan and premium sedan is equal to luxury automobile. Research completed.
Can you quote your source for that research? I find them to be pretty loosely defined, but it's possible there's some kind of published hierarchy.
I think I can address this, because the very subject has been debated in Honda/Acura forums for much of the past decade.
First, I don't think there's any official or published source for Premium vs. Luxury. However, there does seem to be a line in the minds of auto enthusiasts between "Premium" brands (like Acura, Buick, Infiniti) and "Luxury" brands (BMW, MB, Audi, Porche, etc.). In my observation it comes down to 2 basic things: (1) interior opulence and (2) early adopter technologies.
Acura, as an example of "Premium", is essentially a nicer Honda. The Acura TLX, for example, is built on the Honda Accord platform and uses the same basic engines, with some variation in ECU tuning, exhaust systems, and injectors. The interior materials are a bit nicer, there's more sound insulation, and there are a few more tech features. Honda has also given Acuras more advanced transmissions in order to differentiate the vehicles further. However, Honda usually tends to stick with "tried and true" engineering.
This is different from the Mercedes Benz approach. A Benz generally has a unique RWD platform not shared with a mainstream car. MB is also quicker to offer the latest in engines, transmissions, and tech features. The interiors are much nicer in terms of materials and design. The trade off is a higher sticker price and typically lower reliability. Most of the luxury German brands adopted tech like gasoline Direct Injection much sooner than their Japanese competitors. Owners of some of these cars paid the price in terms of experiencing their engines being fouled due to problems with early generation DI systems.
Tesla is unsurprisingly an oddball that doesn't fit neatly into the existing Premium/Luxury hierarchy. Some Tesla features, like large battery dual motor powertrain, Supercharging, and OTA firmware updates are "early adopter" tech that is exclusive. However, as others have noted, Tesla interiors are Spartan at their price point, and Tesla lagged behind in some features like ACC and Lane Keeping Assist, at least until Autopilot rollout.
For these reasons I think the Premium/Luxury debate applied to Tesla is pointless.
The important question is whether a given Tesla vehicle, as a whole, is more or is less compelling than another vehicle being considered for purchase. Line by line feature comparisons do a poor job of characterizing vehicles as complete systems.