Environmental and Consumer Influences of Tesla Motors Model S
Consumer behavior is “the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society” (Schiffman, Kanuk, & Wisenblit, 2010). An important part of growing up is when you reach the age that you can drive an automobile. You dream of the type of car you want, before you even reach the age that you can get your Driver’s License. This is because it psychologically defines who you are and projects to others your social status. As we continue through our cycle of life we adapt to our surroundings and make different choices of vehicles because we have evolved as a consumer. In most cases no matter what our culture, subculture, and values are; the global economic situation and technological advancements of the global tribe lead our decision making process. It will not be of importance what your level of achievement and success is or the degree of education you have obtained. The automobile that you choose will define many aspects of what your perceived social factors are today. The Tesla Model S is a vehicle unlike all others and has its own unique customer base.
Motives, Perception, Attitudes, and Personality
The Model S Tesla Motors experience starts well before you get into the car. Nothing has been so anticipated since the iPhone ® or iPad ® by the market. The Model S has sleek sexy body lines that’s image is low to the ground with a 50/50 weight distribution. Nothing prepares you for the excitement of approaching something that is ready to move before you even get in. The key, for example, looks like a Matchbox toy car. You double-click on the hood of the tiny car to open the hood of the big one and likewise for the trunk. When you double-click on the side of the car/key, door handles—which start out flush with the side of the Model S—spring out. That part is what’s technically referred to as “Star Trek Cool” (Vance,A.). Tesla Motors has taken its fresh and innovative vehicles to new heights, in over four years and 40 countries later, without a single drop of gas. Aspiring to be affordable, eco friendly, and with a twist of luxury, Tesla Motors has taken its fresh and innovative vehicles to new heights of attitude with a distinctive personality.
Family, Social Class, and Reference Groups
An electric car with many computer-controlled systems needs microchips as well as a motor, so it's no surprise that Tesla was born in Silicon Valley, just up the road from the high-tech giants Apple and Intel, not Detroit (H Wells Wulsin,2007). It is amazing that Steve Jobs from his iCloud® has predisposed the accosted Tesla’s development of the feature ridden star ship exterior, the touch screen interior, regenerative breaking, race car acceleration and best-in-world overall warranty for its procession. It has defined the automobile of the future by the controlling investor and CEO Elon Musk. It can be the Wife’s CleanTech eco-friendly family vehicle with a seating capacity for 7 people and lots of storage. Maybe the Husband’s racing car when no one is looking and he is escaping down highway one along the California coast line or blasting into the commuter lane legally, while leaving its perceived rivals standing still in traffic. This all told has created a waiting list demand for Tesla’s mass market of electronic cars. The price of it is in the acceptable range of a vehicle that has never been marketed before in any type of this means of transportation.

Social
Tesla appears to be consumed by the early adapters of technology in California. They do not sell as many cars as the big domestic and international global elite. The Model S sedan has taken the world by surprise, making the elite car manufacturers have nightmares. During the first half of 2013 Tesla sold only 10,000 cars (Rogowsky, 2013). The marketing of this scientific miracle of new battery technology has carefully started in the state that has an abundant supply of Geeks and liberals that are concerned with green technology. Californians also have unrestricted pockets of competitive rivalry, with neighbors that have discretionary funds for high end products.
Ecological
Tesla at this point is so far ahead of that curve with continuous shifts in all aspects of redefining its market and it will be extremely difficult to overcome them quickly. The battery technology invention helps them remain ahead. However; it is the market innovations to every aspect of it that is a genuine key differentiator. They are completely redefining this market for the future of all vehicles. The Tesla Motors car currently has an efficiency of 88%, compared to 20-25% efficiency for traditional gas-powered vehicles. A higher efficiency means less energy is needed to produce the same propulsion, thus reducing the vehicle’s electricity consumption. Tesla vehicles’ carbon footprint is very low and will improve as more renewable energy methods are integrated into the domestic and global grid over time. It is restrained by the power grid infrastructure that is utilized to generate electricity from many archaic nonrenewable materials and not the car design. Gas-powered vehicles, on the other hand, use only a nonrenewable source (gasoline) and cannot capitalize on the integration of more renewable energy sources. Tesla vehicles have the capacity to be fueled by electricity from 100% renewable energy as the green footprint of generating electricity to the grid improves with Clean Tech Negawatt power. Other codependent relations are based upon the ability of the car to regenerate its own power with technological advances.

Technological
Tesla Motors production vehicle, Model S, the rotor is the only moving piece in the motor unlike traditional combustion engines that contain hundreds of moving parts. The Model S is fully electric and releases no emissions or noise. It does not even have a muffler. There’s also the 17-inch entertainment console, which is ridiculously large in a wonderful way. When you bring up a map, it sort of explodes onto the screen, as if you were in the cockpit of your own private jet plane. This is just mentioning a single aspect of the multitude of extreme computer controlled readouts on the dash and steering wheel automations. The 12 speakers, 8” subwoofer with concert hall like sound system displays album artwork in all of its glory and with magnificent acoustics. The volume actually does go to 11 on a scale of 1-10 for those audio files and people who just enjoy the volume with the knob turned to the right. It also displays information about the car’s performance. The car is capable of going 0 to 60 in 4.2 seconds and its battery charge lasts 208-300 miles depending on which of the three batteries that car is equipped with. In 2012, Tesla Motors began building 480-volt “Super Charge” stations in order for the Model S to endure longer trips across America. In June 2013, Tesla announced that all existing stations would be renamed as “Tesla Stations.” All stations will then give Model S owners the option to charge their battery at the station or undergo a less than two minute battery pack swap.
Conclusion
The Tesla Model S is a vehicle unlike all others and has its own unique customer base. There are a multitude of factors that influence the type of vehicle that we desire to purchase. The Tesla Motors Model S has the appeal of being part of all the global changing subculture for environmentally friendly vehicles that utilize a zero level carbon footprint. The factors that marketers must focus upon are that you can be environmentally correct, but you can drive one of the sexiest, fastest excelling 0 to 60 MPH vehicles with the most advanced computer system in the industry. It has a large cost upfront, but your ROI over the next 10 years will justify your investment. You have the best warranty and service of any car in the industry. It also has the versatility to be a spacious luxury family vehicle or quickly become the sports car you always wanted. The automobile that you choose will define many aspects of who you perceive that you are. In the marketing world this is the ultimate car to influence consumer behavior for this socioeconomic culture.

References
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Kaboom, K. (Sept,2013). Can Tesla Withstand Real Competition a Couple of Years From Now. Retrieved from http://www.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/can-tesla-withstand-real competition-couple-years-now
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Mangram, M. E. (2012). The emperor's new clothes: A framework for market-based management at tesla motors. Journal of Strategic Management Education, 8(3), 195-220. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1315874508?accountid=458
Rogowsky (2013). Retrieved from Tesla Motors http://www.teslamotors.com/about
Vance, A. (2012, Jul 09). Test-driving tesla motors's super-fast model S. Business Week, , 1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1039395704?accountid=458
Schiffman, L. G., Kanuk, L. L., & Wisenblit, J. (2010). Consumer Behavior (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.