The Model S (my Model S anyway) is expensive not because it's in the same conspicuous luxury segment as the high end of the Benz or Porsche line, but because it has expensive batteries, and because Tesla is using me, at my expense and with my consent, to gain market experience.

It's a product for early adopters. S class Benz products are not that.

My presence as a customer in this imagined luxury car price point segment is temporary. When it comes time to replace this Model S, I'm counting on several mass-market EV brands competing with each other.

If things keep going the the way they are now, Tesla will have a loyalty advantage in my next purchase choice. But that loyalty advantage probably won't be worth more than a few kilobucks.

The Model S is definitely not a plutocratmobile. I really like it. I'm a total fanboy. But there's road noise, and the front seat doors aren't plutocrat-grade comfortable, and the radio, and , and , and. The market analysts putting it in the plutocrat segment based only on price are making a mistake.

(Yeah, I know, first world problems. But I'm a proud early adopter. I also had a first-generation Honda Insight hybrid.)