I live in UK and I see loads of Teslas as taxis, which is almost unthinkable considering the cost of the car - and I don't mean luxury taxis, I mean it's common to see a normal curb-side taxi as a tesla. I suspect the fact that it's extremely cheap to run and tax balances off very high leasing cost and makes it worth it. I imagine nearly 100% of those sales will turn into Model 3s as soon as it's available.

I'm in Norway. I've ridden in a Tesla taxi.

Yes, the upfront cost of the car is high. But on the other hand, the gas and maintenance costs make up for it. I completely understand the switch. Plus, the ride is nice, comfortable, and quiet for the passenger.

Acura has the exact same strategy price/model wise as Tesla, and they've done extremely well. They have their nicer-than-average entry-level car that shaped sport compact cars forever in the Integra, which became the RSX, and is now relaunched as the ILX. It was in the same price range as the Model 3 was for the same idea - average people who wanted to stretch to have a nice car.

Then they have the (now current) TLX, RDX normal SUV, MDX luxury SUV, etc etc and their Model S is the flagship Acura NSX.

Yes, Acura is a "luxury" brand, but so is Tesla, even with the Model 3 out.

(Pretty sure Lexus is similar in branding/pricing with the Integra being equivalent to the IS 300 as the entry-level car, with it being a predominantly luxury brand. Obviously both Acura/Lexus are spinoffs of Honda/Toyota for the US/CAN market.)

We are still talking $35k-$100k, in essence, the exact same price range that BMW lives in.