Tesla Sold Only One Car in Korea in January::Tesla Inc. sold just one electric vehicle in South Korea in January as a raft of headwinds, from safety concerns to price and a lack of charging infrastructure, weigh on demand.
Tesla Sold Only One Car in Korea in January::Tesla Inc. sold just one electric vehicle in South Korea in January as a raft of headwinds, from safety concerns to price and a lack of charging infrastructure, weigh on demand.
Koreans love foreign brands and consume the most luxury brands per capita in the world. These luxury brands are more important here as status symbols than anywhere else I’ve lived. I’m surprised by this stat because I work in a very wealthy part of Seoul and see many many teslas each day. It’s honestly baffling how many teslas I see. But I’m with you: why not buy local? Why buy a Tesla at all?
I feel like if Koreans want luxury, they’d go with Genesis or a German brand instead of Tesla.
And I see a lot of them driving around too! But the impression that I get from Koreans is that the idea of Tesla and especially Elon Musk really appeals to them. In my anecdotal experience, people idolize Musk here. In my own conception of things, it makes sense given the control that companies like Samsung have over the population here. It’s so natural to be under the rule of companies that when words like “world’s richest man” get thrown around, people can’t help but throw themselves at him
Teslas were a big “first”, though I’m not sure if that holds true in Korea. So they might just be early adopters driving those around.