Elon Musk has stated that as his end goal. He said first he had to make electric cars sexy and sporty[1]. Next he wanted to make a slightly cheaper nice sedan as a high end family car, the Model S[2]. FYI the Model S starts at $71,070 per their website. After that the next goal is the Model X[3], and then a second revision / smaller version of the Model S, which will start around $30,000[4]. So instead of being so sceptical, you should be like holy shit! Elon Musk is a trail blazer and he is doing to the automotive industry what apple did to the personal computer and mobile industry. So far he has delivered on everything he's promised with Tesla and SpaceX, so I doubt he will fail to deliver his stated goal of a 30k car.

[1] http://www.teslamotors.com/roadster [2] http://www.teslamotors.com/models [3] http://www.teslamotors.com/modelx [4] http://green.autoblog.com/2013/08/07/tesla-sold-5150-models-...

Any car in this price range is as much or more a fashion statement than it is anything else. And most reviews of "Tesla vs. Car X" seem contrived to illustrate a preconceived conclusion, whether it's Top Gear who somewhat artificially highlighted the very real range issues with the Tesla or this review which highlights an acceleration capability that you really can't use unless you're on a track.

Operating costs of these cars are meaningless to people who can afford them, so until there's a Tesla in the $20,000--$30,000 range I don't see that as something that's going to factor into a purchase decision for most people.

I personally would never spend more than $10,000 on a car, and I'd have to be having a really weak moment to even spend that. I still find Tesla to be interesting to read about, they are quite clearly the best effort yet at an electric vehicle, but for me they will likely always be just a curiosity, sort of like a Cray supercomputer. Amazing, but really special-purpose.

I dunno — I see the Model S as far less of a fashion statement than most other comparably priced cars. If one wishes to buy an electric car (e.g., because you believe in reducing pollution, because of the lower cost of running due to tax exemptions, etc.) and needs a range of over 200 miles, there are two options: the Venturi Fétish and the Tesla Model S (in some places the tax exemptions do not apply to hybrids, so if you need the range, that's it).

I also wouldn't write off operating costs as a reason — certainly, those who can afford them can likely afford the operating costs of similarly priced ICE cars, but my experience is those with a greater amount of money tend to be more frugal than those with slightly above average income. There's also the difference between wealth and income — purchase power for something like a car may well be done on the basis of wealth, while maintaining it done on income.

I don't know about you, but I take advantage of quick 0-60 acceleration all the time. It's more things like high top speeds that are useless except at a track.

> I could care less about how great cars that cost as much as some homes do.

Good luck finding a home in the UK for the same price as a Tesla S.

The Tesla S costs in the $70-100k range. I cannot image that it would be too hard to find houses in that price range in the UK, given that I found this after 20 seconds of Googling. http://money.uk.msn.com/mortgages-and-homes/30-homes-for-%C2...

Finding a house here in Sweden in that price range is easy, as long as you're willing to live where no one else wants to.

Come on, most of those houses are either in the middle of nowhere or 'needs updating', 'needs work' and so forth. You can buy houses for <$1k in the US if you go to where they're priced at that, but there's a reason why they're that cheap, and they certainly don't represent anywhere near the usual experience.

Here's a list of properties within 3 miles from Liverpool city centre (well, a 'Zoopla mile' is a bit different) for £40-60k ($62-93). I'm sure many will need updating. There's 300+ on the list

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/houses/liverpool-city-centr...

A fair point.

If you buy second-hand you can also easily pick up an Aston for cheaper than a new Tesla S, so say the classifieds. I wouldn't recommend leaving it unattended outside your £40k Liverpool house though. Probably best not to drive it into the estate at all.

Some of the worst estates in the entirety of the UK are around there, though. Do you really want to live in Toxteth? Honestly?

> Honestly I could care less about

Couldn't care less. Couldn't.

That construction is on a par with using "literally" to mean "figuratively" (surprisingly common), or "he doesn't know s * * t" when obviously the speaker means "he does know s * * t."

You only get up to around 100k if you are getting the high-end versions... The Roadster was the 100k+ one.

> cars that cost as much as some homes do

Homes in London? Not even close.