I know very little about cars, but a cursory search shows that both the Model 3 and Model Y are about ~60% more expensive than the top-selling sedans and SUVs in the US. They're also both in the same rough ballpark as popular "luxury" car labels (Lincoln, BMW), so I think "luxury" is a fair descriptor.
I don’t think comparing a Tesla’s price to an ICE competitor is an apples to apples comparison.
Sure on the surface a Model 3 price tag looks luxury, but look at full cost of ownership and things start looking downright reasonable. No mandatory scheduled maintenance, no gas costs — charging the thing at home is laughably cheap, brake pads last in to the 100-200k kilometre range thanks to regenerative braking. Don’t forget all the subsidies too against the purchase price.
If you drive a lot, the numbers start getting awfully close to non-luxury vehicles.
And all of this is before you consider the non-monetary drivers of value such as how fun it is to drive, tech gadgets, etc.
I think you're absolutely right: amortized, driving a Tesla for a decade is probably cheaper than driving a brand new luxury sedan. But I don't think that's incompatible with Tesla being a luxury brand: many (although) not all luxury brands advertise themselves through their amortized savings or durability. Put another way: a product's longevity is frequently a selling point for a luxury label, even if longevity itself isn't a guarantee of luxury.
The same is apparent in clothing: I have an expensive, recognizable jacket that I expect to last for the rest of my life. It's undeniably a luxury item, because it costs several times more than even a premium, high-quality jacket would. But it'll probably save me money over the next 60 years, since I won't buy half a dozen merely nice jackets instead.
Where "normies" == "People who have accumulated wealth during 20+ years and above average savings"? Dunno where you live (in Beverly Hills I guess?), but those "normies" are not the norm anymore. Have you seen how the rest of Americans live outside the big cities?
median income for a 50 year old American at 90k is skewed high by a small number of people way above 300-400k.
how many millions of americans have a gross yearly income of maybe 35k?
randomly chosen Montgomery county in Kansas:
The median income for a household in the county was $30,997, and the median income for a family was $38,516. Males had a median income of $29,745 versus $20,179 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,421. About 9.20% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.80% of those under age 18 and 10.90% of those age 65 or over.
randomly chosen Benton county in Washington:
The median income for a household in the county was $57,354 and the median income for a family was $69,834. Males had a median income of $57,496 versus $36,575 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,161. About 9.3% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.[13]