A Black Tesla owner says that every single time he visits a Tesla showroom, there’s always at least one white person who stares him down. Tevin James (@tevinjamess) posted a TikTok on the matter. He attributes the sustained peering to the notion that Teslas are considered symbols of high socioeconomic standing. He says it isn’t necessarily the case, despite challenging the presumptions of others that he isn’t financially stable just because of his race.
James begins his video by speaking into the camera while he drives his Tesla. “Bro, every single time. Never fails, every single time that I come to Tesla. There’s always a white person that just be looking at me up and down. Like I don’t belong in there, like bro Teslas are not that expensive they’re only $45,000 dollars,” he chuckles after saying this.
“I’m not broke,” he adds.
We have reached out to James via Instagram direct message for further comment. It’s unclear which Tesla showroom he was referring to.
Tesla Owner Demographics
According to automotive digital marketing agency Hedges & Company, many drivers who purchase Teslas share similar identifying traits. The business cited a survey conducted on 9,733 Tesla owners in 2024. 81% of all buyers in the analysis were categorized as being white. This is a 6% drop from the previous year. Black Tesla owners composed 2% of the research pool for two consecutive years. Tesla sales saw an uptick with Hispanic drivers, who came in at 11% in 2024, which was a 3% jump from 2023. More Asian buyers are getting in Teslas now, too, as 5% of all Teslas observed in the research group were purchased by this demographic. This also shows an uptick in this particular ethnic pairing from 3% in 2023.
Another commonality revealed in Hedges & Company’s piece was with regard to home life. As it turns out, many Tesla owners aren’t active parents. Seventy percent of folks who drive vehicles manufactured by the EV brand don’t have children living with them at home. This figure represents a 4% increase from 2023.
Furthermore, the majority of Tesla owners are predominantly male, with only slight variations between different models in the automaker’s lineup; 73% of all newer Model Ss and Model Ys were purchased by men. Model X figures were nearly identical, with 74% of men owning the gull-wing SUV.
Other Tesla Statistics
Given there are plenty of Tesla drivers who urge folks to reconsider buying an EV if they’re unable to charge at home, this next bit of data may not come as a surprise. That’s because 97% of Tesla owners own their houses.
This figure represents a massive jump from previous years (88%) and a striking disparity from the U.S. population at large. Sixty-six percent of Americans reportedly owned their own domiciles in 2023, indicating that Teslas disproportionately attract folks who finance or own their residences.
Hedges & Company attributes this statistic to the “high household income and older age of Tesla owners.” The average collective income of a Model S household stands at $153,313 per year. Model X vehicle buyers tend to earn slightly less each year, with a $143,177 average salary (combined or single). Model Y drivers earn around $145,909 each year, with Cybertruck commuters bringing in about $150k per annum.
Furthermore, the median age of a Tesla owner is 54 years old, but different models seem to attract different age groups. The Model S is more likely to have the oldest Tesla drivers behind the wheel at 53, with Model Y devotees at 48 years old. Cybertruck and Model Y drivers hover around the 46-year-old and 48-year-old marks, with the Model 3 averaging out at 47.
Tesla Racism Controversies
Time magazine reported that a class-action lawsuit could be filed against Tesla Inc. for alleged race-based grievances. The outlet highlighted a lawsuit filed in 2017 by Marcus Vaughn, who argued that the EV manufacturer didn’t “do enough to prevent discrimination and harassment.” Vaughn’s argument also has “almost 6,000 Black workers from Tesla Inc.’s California factory” attached to it as well.
It states that there was a “pattern or practice” at Tesla to stymie efforts to address and correct interactions on the factory’s production floor. Vaughn characterized the workplace in his legal claim as a “hotbed of racist behavior.”
Tesla replied to Vaughn’s assertions in a blog post on its website called “Hotbed of Misinformation.” In the entry, which has been cataloged here, the EV maker argued why Vaughn’s accusations didn’t hold weight. “Several months ago we had already investigated disappointing behavior involving a group of individuals. After a thorough investigation, immediate action was taken, which included terminating the employment of three of the individuals. We believe this was the fair and just response to the facts that we learned,” it wrote.
CNBC also reports that Tesla “settled a racial discrimination lawsuit” with an employee who worked as an elevator operator at its Fremont, California factory in 2015. The former Tesla elevator operator said employees there “regularly used racist epithets to denigrate him and other Black workers.”
Furthermore, he was told to “go back to Africa” by other workers, who would also deface restrooms with “racist graffiti.” Diaz added that someone had left a drawing that resembled Inki the Caveman in his work area.
@tevinjamess #tesla #teslatok ♬ original sound – Tev
Commenters Sound Off
Viewers who replied to James’ video had a variety of responses to his post. One person on the app replied, “Lmao they be so confused when I pop out my Tesla.”
Whereas another remarked, “Omg I just had this conversation with my husband. How people look at us when we drive our Tesla.”
Someone else said, “I get that all the time when I get out my MX.”
Another said that they relished in defying the expectations of others. “And that’s why you should continue to go back, cause your presence makes them feel some type of way. I live for this feeling.”
Whereas one TikTok user replied that, depending on where you live, Teslas aren’t exactly vaunted cars. “Teslas are like Hondas at this point especially if you live in the bay,” they penned.
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