If you are reading this right now, chances are that you’re a man.
Pardon the assumption, and please know that were it up to us, we wouldn’t intentionally choose such a male-skewed audience. Still, statistically speaking, the world of automobiles tends to be a male-dominant one.
It’s exactly this sort of male-focus that Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk wants to avoid with the electric-carmaker’s next offering: the Tesla Model X. The Washington Post reports that Mr. Musk has remarked on the intent of the forthcoming Tesla Model X crossover, labelling it an attempt at “paying more attention to the needs of women.”
Musk explains that the Model S luxury sedan is “a little too guy-centric.” Having seen for ourselves plenty more women Model S drivers than men, we might question the statement’s truthfulness. However, we can’t quite so readily contest the results of Tesla Motors’ “women-centric” approach to the Tesla Model X; as of a few months ago, more than half of all pre-orders had come from women.
That strategy has the potential to pay-off for Tesla Motors in a big way; the popularity of the SUV and crossover segments shows no signs of diminishing, and according to The Washington Post, women accounted for about half of all compact SUV sales in the US last year. Plus, the female demographic is growing; five years ago, women purchased about 36 percent of all cars and trucks in the US. Last year, that share jumped up to 40 percent.
With this year’s overall sales from Tesla Motors so far failing to reach half of the year’s 55,000 unit target, the automaker could certainly stand to benefit from a growing female demographic.
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