I give you Exhibit B: The new Tesla Model X. The SUV successor to Tesla's wildly popular Model S, the Model X is a machine unlike any other.
Let's start with the most notable of the Model X's physical anomalies: the doors. Tesla refers to them as "Falcon Wings". It actually took me a while to find a picture of the car with its doors closed, because, well, see for yourself:
Any mom with a luxurious actual or ideal self-concept (Angell, 9/28 lecture) will want one of these. Only the most bad-ass middle-schoolers are stepping out of rear those doors.
This SUV is so feature-packed, that Elon Musk (the company's infamous founder and CEO) even said, "I'm not sure anyone should really make this car. There are far more things there than is needed to sell it". And he's not wrong. There are so many things this car does that no one ever would have thought of. Here's the Sparknotes version:
- Each door, which opens automatically, has ultrasonic sensors to avoid any Kroger parking lot bumps and dings.
- The windshield and the sunroof are the same piece of glass. The sun visors come out of the side beams and connect magnetically to the center.
- There's an internal air filter that gives the car's cabin hospital operating room-levels of cleanliness. So long seasonal allergies, right?
- It's 100% electric, goes 0-60 in under 4 seconds, and can drive over 250 miles on a single charge.
- Did I mention the frickin' Falcon Wing doors?
Of course, all of these features come at a price, and that price is almost as shocking as the car. Starting versions will suck north of $140,000 out of buyers' faux-leather wallets until cheaper models roll out. It will take more than a passion for environmental innovativeness (Babin/Harris 115) to acquire one of these beasts. Luckily, tax incentives will refund up to $25,000 of that back--Enough to by the nanny a Prius!
The waiting list for this car is already over 30,000 deep. It's clear that the aspirational group (Angell, 10/7 lecture) Tesla has built around its product is strong. For such a high-involvement (Angell, 10/5 lecture) product as a car, Tesla has done a fantastic job triggering the emotions of its future customers: a $5,000 deposit was necessary even before the car was announced. And even those who won't ever step inside the Model X are product enthusiasts--the value Tesla creates just through these ludicrous features and ceremonial announcements provides plenty of value to fans of the brand (Babin/Harris 95).
I can't wait to see the Model X out on the road. Actually, scratch that. I don't need to see it driving at all. Put it in a parking lot and just open the door, that's all I really need to see.
When was the last time a new car made an enthusiast say that?
