A typical Tesla owner is a rich white male homeowner in his 50s, a study says (2024)

Illustration: Shadha Ziyad/WIRED Middle East

When I drive in Dubai, I’d always picture what the owners of those big Nissan Patrols look like. As they fiercely roam across a six-lane road, my regular-sized sedan seems so fragile next to those proud monsters. Just like that, I’d sometimes wonder who are the people that sit in a Tesla, driving an EV in an oil-fueling country.

A typical Tesla owner seems to be different from most other car owners, says Hedges & Company, a digital marketing firm for cars. In a recent release, the firm conducted a demographic study on Tesla owners. Although the study focuses on those in the US, it is still quite interesting to see who tends to be more attracted by Elon Musk’s EV.

After going over the firm’s master vehicle owner database of 175+ million vehicle owners, the study builds a profile of a typical Tesla owner.

The typical Tesla customer is male, in his 50s, owns his own home, and has a high household income. Those who own a Tesla Model X have an average of $146,623 per year. That figure is $151,096 per year for Model S owners.

As of 2022, 88 percent of Tesla owners own their own homes. Over 70 percent are males and are just under 54 years old. For the brand’s most popular model — Model 3, 84 percent of the owners are male and around 46 years old.

In the US, Tesla owners mostly live in California. They are majority white, with 87 percent of individuals identifying as Caucasian. Hedges & Company also finds that these owners are less likely to have kids in their homes. Around 66 percent of them don’t have any kids at home.

Another study from a California-based car insurance savings app found that Tesla drivers are more educated on average. About one-third of them studied had a master’s degree or doctoral degree. They are mostly engineers, managers of operations, or software engineers.

The EV market in the Middle East is still nascent. But the governments in the region are promoting the adaptation of EVs. Saudi Arabia has designated 5 percent of all parking spaces in the Kingdom for EVs. In Dubai, Arabia Taxi added 269 Tesla Model 3 to its fleet this year. As more and more people in the region are considering switching to EVs, we might soon be able to find out whether the Tesla owners’ profiles here match those in the US.