Who's Buying the Tesla Model S?

Jeff Weisbein -

Tesla has been selling its Model S in the U.S. for more than a year now and according to a new report by CNBC and Edmonds we have an idea of what type of people are buying the super cool, electric luxury car.

The buyers of this car are actually a little younger than the typical $100,000 car buyer.  I’m guessing a lot of that has to do with the young millionaires living in and around Sillicon Valley.  After the 45-64 age group which represents 50.6% of Model S buyers, the second biggest age group is the 18-44 range which accounts for 33.2% of the sales.

The demographic breakdown

  • 35-54 years old: 57.8%
  • Male: 83%
  • Income 150,000+: 56.5%
  • More than 77% of buyers make $100,000

Most people (56.5%) who have incomes greater than $150,000 and are buying electric cars choose the Tesla Model S.  That number is compared to the 30.2% of people in the same income range who have chosen the Chevy Volt and the 28% within that income range who chose the Nissan Leaf.  This shouldn’t be much of a surprise though, if you have the money why would you go for a Chevy Volt or Nissan Leaf when you can get the more stylish and super luxurious Model S?

The real question that remains to be seen is whether or not these buyers are giving up other luxury cars for the Tesla Model S or if they’re just buying the Model S in addition to that BMW and Mercedes Benz.  The answer to that question may take a few more years to find out, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

One other cool thing to note is that there are now more than 13,000 Model S cars on the road in North America.