[martalist]

> There are other reasons Tesla started with a high-end model.

True, I didn't mean to imply it was the only reason - more that it's good example of appealing to human self-interest to fix a larger problem.

[thewhitetulip]

It is called selling! Nobody would have bothered to buy a electric car if it was launched as "family mass produced car", the reason why people are are raving about Tesla is because their cars are now a status symbol or a lifestyle symbol, just like the iPhone, Musk did his selling well.

When you are building a company, being able to sell a product is more important than just building a world class product.