There has been plenty of debate about Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s stock price, but one thing few people disagree about is the quality of the automaker’s Model S sedan. It’s extremely stylish and has a range that’s much further than any of its competitors, but it still carries that luxury price tag, which is enough to give any car buyer pause.
Alex Davies and Mike Nudelman of Business Insider put together a comparison chart featuring Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s Model S sedan and eight other electric vehicles (including two plugin electric hybrid vehicles). The chart really puts things into perspective for those who want to buy an electric vehicle but aren’t sure which one will suit their needs.
Tesla’s price is much higher
The chart uses the 60 kwh version of Tesla’s Model S for the chart. The vehicle’s MSRP is just under $70,000, and it has a range of 208 miles. On average, drivers will spend about $650 on fuel. When converting to miles per gallon equivalent, the vehicle gets 95 miles. It takes 20 minutes to get a half charge when using Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s Supercharger. However, the price tag for the Model S is much higher than all of the others on the chart.
The other eight vehicles included in the comparison were the BMW i3, the Chevy Volt Plugin Hybrid, the Nissan Leaf, the Toyota Prius Plugin Hybrid, the Ford Focus Electric, the Honda Fit EV, the Smart ForTwo Electric and the Chevy Spark EV. The prices for the other vehicles range from the low-end Chevy Spark’s price tag of less than $28,000 up to the BWM i3’s price tag of a little over $41,000. But as you can see, even the luxury brand BMW doesn’t have a cost anywhere near as high as Tesla’s cost.
Tesla has a commanding lead on range
When it comes to range though, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s Model S exceeds all of the other vehicles, coming in at 208 miles. The next closest is the BMW i3, which has a range of up to 100 miles. The Toyota Prius Plugin Hybrid will only go 11 miles on an electric charge, although it has a gas tank to provide extra range.
So it’s worth checking out the chart for all the details on these cars, but it’s easy to see why Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) can get away with charging so much more for its car. Now if we could just get that technology in a less expensive model, we’d be all set. Tesla has its work cut out for it, but it’s beginning to look like the company will pull it off.
