Well, I have not seen a single Tesla in Germany so far (apart from the one at some e-mobility event)
No electric car is going to beat the M5 soon. Maybe in acceleration, but not as a sports car that can go 250-300km/h for some time. Even the Koenigsegg Regera is a Hybrid.
Yeah, but gas costs even more. Which is why I think that money is going to be the big selling point and that's why BMW focuses on hybrids. Also commutes here are shorter, so it will cover the whole or at least significant amount of the commute for a lot of people.
Correct on all accounts. Even though I have seen a few Model S over here, but 90% of those were test drive vehicles of our Frankfurt Tesla store.
I think even Tesla underestimated the challenges of the European markets (other than the heavily subsidized Norway and Netherlands), and Germany in particular.
I don't think BMW sees Tesla as a threat at all, at least not on the grand scale.
Let us try and be realistic for a moment:
Where do BEVs sell (reasonably) well at the moment? Only in markets where there are massive subsidies. In most markets the BEV segment is miniscule.
Who at the moment can realistically afford a Model S? With naked starting prices well above even many well equipped Mercs, Audis, Lexus's and BMWs?
Even if one wants a BEV, at least over here there are much better choices than a Tesla, at least until Model 3 arrives. As Spidy said, commutes are generally quite short for most people, in many areas people use public transport, so a BEV has to be either cheaper or more practical to be a viable alternative. An 80K+ Euro car the size of an S-class doesn't fit that description.
And for those who buy a luxury car like a large Merc/Audi/Lexus/BMW because they travel long distances on a regular basis, like travelling salesmen who make up a large percentage of the left lane traffic on the Autobahn, a BEV is not an attractive alternative anyway, as they are in a constant hurry and don't have the time or the nerves to plan their trips around charging locations plus lose time for charging.
So no, I don't think the big automakers will have to worry about Tesla or BEVs becoming a threat for a very long time to come. Sales numbers speak for themselves.
The picture will look different when there are BEVs with 500 mile realistic range available for under 50K Euro/Dollar. But is that realistic before 2020 - even from Tesla? I dare say no (even though I would hope otherwise).