Cars.com Chief Analyst Says Drop In Share Price Of Tesla Not Due To Oil Prices

When asked if low oil prices could be causing a sell-off in shares of Tesla Motors Inc TSLA, Cars.com Chief Analyst Jesse Toprak told Benzinga that there’s traditionally a strong correlation between the sale of pure electric vehicles and gas prices.

But that’s not the case for Tesla, according to Toprak.

“Vehicles like the Model S from Tesla have been largely immune to this because people who bought Teslas at that price level are not necessarily buying it to save money,” he said.

Looking at a Model S purchase purely from a math perspective, Toprak explained, it doesn’t make sense to spend $80,000 to $100,000 to save a couple of hundred dollars in gas a month.

Toprak noted that a Tesla vehicle is more of a “lifestyle statement” and an “image buy.”