A Model S for $45K? Where do I sign? The average selling price of a Model S is probably more like $90K.
The Model S Performance starts at $87,400. However, this is a very special top-of-the-line car, comparable to an AMG or M model from Mercedes or BMW respectively. This is definitely not the average car or the average price.
Of course, just like its German rivals, the price does go up with some options. But if you just want a nice electric car, the options are, well, optional. (Although I wouldn't pass up the tech package if I could afford it :P.)
And it's not like the standard equipment is weak--the well-publicized gigantic touchscreen comes standard, for example.
Anyhow, basically you can get one for a bit over $50k; the price only goes up if you want a longer range and some nice options.
$52,000 now was worth $45,658.39 in 2006.
I was using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index
The car has a built in charger that can add 31 miles of range per hour off a standard 240V outlet. The base model has 160 miles of range, so a charge all the way from zero to full should only take a little over 5 hours. Seems reasonable enough to me.
The price of a Roadster was $109K when introduced in 2008.
During the first few months, reservation holders who planned to purchase a 40 KWh car were told they would need to wait longer.
That situation would drive the average selling price upward. Once the manufacture of the 40 KWh cars starts (and perhaps it has already started), and once the relatively wealthy early adopters have purchased their well-equipped models, the average selling price should trend downward.
On day one of iPhone 6 availability, are more 64 GB or 32 GB models going to be sold? 64 GB obviously. Microsoft was correctly criticized for not understanding that most Surface Pro early adopters wanted the 128 GB model.
Similarly, if you see a Model S on the road today (and I've seen about 15 so far here in Los Angeles) odds are very good it will be a Performance-spec car. Around 10 of the 15 I've seen have been Performance. And when the Mercedes W212 E-Class hit the streets, if I recall correctly the very first one I saw in the wild was an E63. Early adopters buy top-of-the-line.