Cars.com Chief Analyst: Tesla Has Hit Limit To Number Of People Who Will Buy Vehicles At Current Price Level

Speaking to Benzinga, Cars.com Chief Analyst Jesse Toprak said that the recent sell-off in shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is not due to low oil prices.

But Toprak does think that Tesla is hitting the limit of the number of people who will buy electric vehicles at the current price level.

“Beyond that, you need to go after the mass market that will buy the EVs for financial reasons to save money on gas,” he said.

He pointed out that the same thing happened with the Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE: TM) Prius and the General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) Chevrolet Volt. When those vehicles were first introduced, Toprak explained, the early adopters like celebrities bought them to portray an environmentally friendly image.

“It was a lot of hype until the point where the price became affordable to an average buyer that vehicles like the Prius and Volt were able to attract the average buyer,” he said.

Brianna Valleskey contributed to this report.