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What's the average income of a Model S owner?

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In a country (Norway) where cars in general are heavily taxed (100-200%), but EVs are totally tax free, a lot of Model S reservation holders here are people who would normally be in the market for a well equipped BMW 3-series or a stripped 520D(!).

So I wonder; what's the average income of the US Model S-buyer? Seeing as it's priced similar to a BMW M5, I would think only a small percentage of the population would be eligible to buy this kind of car?

Or am I wrong? ;)
 
In a country (Norway) where cars in general are heavily taxed (100-200%), but EVs are totally tax free, a lot of Model S reservation holders here are people who would normally be in the market for a well equipped BMW 3-series or a stripped 520D(!).

So I wonder; what's the average income of the US Model S-buyer? Seeing as it's priced similar to a BMW M5, I would think only a small percentage of the population would be eligible to buy this kind of car?

Or am I wrong? ;)

Model S Buyers: What's Your Income?
 
So I wonder; what's the average income of the US Model S-buyer? Seeing as it's priced similar to a BMW M5, I would think only a small percentage of the population would be eligible to buy this kind of car?

Or am I wrong? ;)

Depends on other factors. I would never consider BMW 5 series (or even a 3 series) as the cost of fuel and maintenance is way too high and I'm not into that kind of car.
 
Or am I wrong? ;)

I would guess you are correct. Certainly not scientific but about 80% of responders to Todd's poll had household incomes of greater than 100kUSD. 100k plus in the US will most likely put you in the top 20%. This is why the Gen3 is the goal for moving Tesla into the mainstream. A sub 30k decent EV that gets the same or better range as the MS would sell out of control eventually. Just my opinion but I'm certain you're right about the small percentage. Though small is a relative word in this case.
 
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Sorry if I got that wrong, I meant to say "financially capable of or comfortable with buying" (English is not my first language ;) )

No problem.

I think the 40kw is well within range of many car buyers.

Clearly, the $90-110k (with tax before rebate) price point is probable for the folks making more than $150k per year, IMHO ( there will always be outliers of course).
 
I'm an outlier I guess! Before it was fashionable or something people really thought about, gas mileage has always been my first criterion when buying a vehicle. Tesla has them all beat. Ironically, I have to get the 85 battery just to bring it to the nearest service center which is over 200 miles away from here. Yes, I will be getting the ranger service, but there are things that rangers aren't able to do, like balance and align tires (?). I will need to change from all season to winter tires twice a year, so I will need to get to Boston. As for my salary, I am a middle school teacher. I have never needed to drive in a big city, so I am quite nervous about this, but hey, that's also the reason I got the tech package. I need navigation!
 
I'm an outlier I guess! Before it was fashionable or something people really thought about, gas mileage has always been my first criterion when buying a vehicle. Tesla has them all beat. Ironically, I have to get the 85 battery just to bring it to the nearest service center which is over 200 miles away from here. Yes, I will be getting the ranger service, but there are things that rangers aren't able to do, like balance and align tires (?). I will need to change from all season to winter tires twice a year, so I will need to get to Boston. As for my salary, I am a middle school teacher. I have never needed to drive in a big city, so I am quite nervous about this, but hey, that's also the reason I got the tech package. I need navigation!

In some cases, the Rangers have just taken cars to the local tire and/or alignment shop.
 
Thanx, rlpm - that was very informative!

Surprised, really, to see that large a bunch in the sub $100K section. Almost 30%.
Does anyone know how much the average US industrial worker makes? That's a common bench mark for a population's purchasing power (at least over here in EU).

You're welcome.

This has some information, though I didn't cull it for the exact information you're looking for:
http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p60-243.pdf

From what I've read around here and TM's fora, there are plenty of high-income customers. But there are also a lot that would normally not purchase a car in this price range - but the Model S is just that revolutionary!
 
Does anyone know how much the average US industrial worker makes? That's a common bench mark for a population's purchasing power (at least over here in EU).

If you are talking about US 'auto' industry workers, the wage (what the employee sees on their paycheck) is dependent on several factors; location/state/city, unionized shop or not, apprentice/general laborer/tradesman, Tier 1/Tier 2 supplier etc...

Eliminating management from the equation, you're looking at a range of minimum wage (which also varies) to $40/hr . There may be overtime on that, bonuses, some places have profit sharing etc...
 
IEliminating management from the equation, you're looking at a range of minimum wage (which also varies) to $40/hr . There may be overtime on that, bonuses, some places have profit sharing etc...

The fly in the ointment here is that "management" has been expanded to mean all non-union workers so that employers don't have to pay overtime.
 
Here is a good reference for income by demographic in the US

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States

Great - Thanx :)

The numbers are from 2005, but let's say they increased by 10% since then. The median household income should add up to ~100k USD, then. A fair share of the Model S buyers are in this bracket or less - that's really interesting, seeing as there is a lot of other ICE cars they could have afforded in the same price range. Here in Norway, a normal household income for industrial workers is ~140k USD, and most normal families can't afford to buy a new car(!)