This is reminiscent of the Volvo study:
Some analysts think buyers don’t necessarily want an electric car when they buy a Tesla — they primarily want a Tesla, which has replaced the latest iPhone as the coolest accoutrement in Silicon Valley and similar cultural enclaves around the world.
Source: The only electric vehicles that have had success are Teslas – Los Angeles
Most EVs are not selling well – only Tesla has appreciable market share and sees year over year growth. Sales, they suggest, are due to the “coolness” factor and that Tesla sells a “lifestyle” image – versus people buying an EV for other reasons. Tesla is just cool to own.
A survey by Volvo, found that about 75% of buyers said virtue signaling plays a large role in purchasing an EV. Paradoxically they said that owning an EV “helps them to feel better about making less environmentally conscious decisions in “other areas of life. Oops.
