Everything’s Sunny For Tesla In California

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Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has made huge inroads into becoming one of the most sold luxury cars in California. Certainly, it doesn’t hurt that the car is electric in a state whose citizens take their environmentalist stance a little more seriously than others. But the fact of the matter remains, that in a state where you must drive, outside of San Francisco, Tesla’s Model S is a marvel in luxury engineering and truly a “driver’s car.”

Everything's Sunny For Tesla In California

Tesla has sold 4,714 of its Model S in California

The Model S is presently the third best selling luxury car in California lagging behind only Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW’s 5-Series. Tesla has sold 4,714 of its Model S electric cars in the state during the first half of the year, according to the California New Car Dealers Association. Mercedes has sold 6,582 of its aforementioned E-Class, while BMW has sold 6,077 of its 5-series.

Given the limited amount of autos that Tesla is able to manufacture, these numbers have California responsible for over 50% of the company’s sales.  These numbers represent the strength of California’s luxury market, and the fact that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) makes more money if they needn’t deliver the cars from its Palo Alto factory. The Model S begins at $63,570 and can exceed $100,000 given the choice of battery size and range.

Given California’s love of the electric car, and that Toyota Prius is the most sold car in any category in the state, the news that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has found a high-end niche shouldn’t come as a tremendous surprise. Car shoppers registered 33,987 Prius hybrids in California during the first half of 2013, more than any other car.

The California car market is currently booming with the state buying cars faster than any other state. Nationally, for the first half of the year, the country is witnessing sales up 7.7% from last year. California is blowing this growth away with an increase in sales of 12.5% over the same time frame.

Tesla Motors sales in California

Tesla is not the only domestic auto maker excelling in California. Chevrolet and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) are seeing increased sales that along with Tesla and others now account for 29% of the cars sold in the state up from 27% the year prior.

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s sales in California are also buoyed by the fact that Californians buy passenger cars considerably more than the rest of the nation. They accounted for 63 percent of the cars sold in the first half of the year compared to national average of 51 percent.

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