Tesla is top seller in nation's wealthiest enclaves
- Tesla is scoring with rich people%2C new data suggests
- It%27s the biggest selling car in eight of the nation%27s 25 richest zip codes
- Tesla releases earnings this week
As Tesla Motors prepares to release it quarterly earnings next week, here's an analysis that reflects on the electric-car maker's out-of-nowhere success. It's rich people.
Sure, Tesla's Model S is the "it" car of Silicon Valley, a techno-wonder that fits right in to the other cutting-edge digital products being cranked out south of San Francisco.
But Edmunds.com columnist Jessica Caldwell finds that Tesla has become the most-registered new car in eight of the nation's top 25 wealthiest zip codes, measuring by average real-estate values. She cross-referenced Forbes magazines wealth data against car registrations.
A hit car is a hit car. But remember, buying a Tesla requires a bit of mindset change. As an all-electric car, buyers need to rig their garages to charge it, remember to plug it in and think about ways to charge it away from home. Yes, it is the the longest range electric car at a maximum 265 miles per charge, but it also is mighty expensive, starting at about $70,000.
Yet consider how it is catching on in wealthy community. In zip code 94027, Atherton, Calif., where the average home price is a shocking $6.7 million, Tesla has a 15% market share. In nearby 94022, Los Altos Hills, Tesla is attracting 11% of buyers.
That's the good news. The bad news is that Tesla's popularity is still a decidedly California-centric phenom. It's making nice gains in other key market around the country, but none as dramatic as what it has done in the Golden State.
Caldwell says Tesla's progress bodes well for the future, when it hopes to cater to the masses, not just the 1%. That's because California geeks also happen to be trend setters.
"Influential people set trends while the mainstream aspires to follow," she writes. "With the proclivity of tech geek being chic, the Silicon Valley area will set trends faster than traditional high-income markets like New York."