[pclark]

My confusion with Tesla is this: around the rest of the world - outside of USA - there are already very fuel efficient automobiles. 60, 80, even 90 miles per gallon are common and applauded in Europe.

America has the opposite approach and appears to optimise for size, comfort and perceived safety. (SUVs, Trucks, large saloons.)

None of the things American consumers appear to value are correlated in the Tesla. When I look at the Tesla brand, product and marketing, all I can think is how popular this car would be in Europe. Just me? Why USA first?

[rdl]

The market is a few types of rich person. The nerd (who just loves the tech), the guy who genuinely cares about the environment (but is either required to drive long distances, or is irrational), the person who wants a sportscar or luxury car but also wants to socialize with or date leftist/environmentalists, someone who wants a california hov lane sticker but doesn't want to ride a motorcycle every day, ...

This won't sell a few million cars a year, but I think in the USA, the market for the above is 50-100k cars per year, easy.

[cynicalkane]

Euro testing cycles are more generous, MPG figures are quoted in Imperial gallons (which are larger), and probably because of less dense cities they tend to be more tolerant of smog belching diesels. Diesels are fuel efficient but it's expensive to make them pollution efficient enough to pass American regulations.

Many cars are the same in both countries. There isn't anything about America that makes them less efficient. The exceptions are those tiny city cars that Americans would never drive, and diesels.

[CaptainZapp]

  Euro testing cycles are more generous, MPG figures are quoted in Imperial gallons

I have never seen a MPG notation anywhere in Europe (possibly in the UK, but certainly nowhere else).

Car efficiency is quoted by liters / 100 km just about everywhere around here.

Or am I missing something?

[to3m]

It is only in the UK. Nobody else uses miles, and the cutoff age for using gallons is something like 40-50 (and rising).

[teamonkey]

Diesel cars are very clean these days. The problem is that until recently in the US the standard of diesel typically found was of a lower quality than EuroDiesel. Now it has tighter regulations, but diesel cars still carry the stigma.

Not only that, but diesel is rare in North America. You cannot guarantee that the next gas station you pass will serve diesel. That alone is enough to put people off buying them.

Ford, General Motors and all the Japanese brands offer diesel models of their fleet in Europe but they don't tend to sell them here.

[HeyLaughingBoy]

diesel is rare in North America

I think that this is a very regional thing. Perhaps limited to the coastal cities? I have no problem finding diesel in the Midwest. In fact, we took a road trip a few months ago in our diesel pickup and every gas station we stopped at had diesel: it's not even something you need to look for.

[grannyg00se]

"None of the things American consumers appear to value are correlated in the Tesla. "

Here are a few: Fashion, Thrill, Exclusivity, Pride, Vanity, Technology.

[pbreit]

It's a US company. And your notion of US tastes leaves a lot to be desired. And fuel efficiency is only a small component of Teslas marketing.