Ford Motor Company (F), Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (TM): Two Signs That American-Made Is Back

Consumers and critics don’t even know how to classify Tesla’s groundbreaking Model S. Is it a luxury car, sports car, electric car, or all three combined? There’s no other electric model capable of going from 0 to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds, a pretty impressive feat. One thing is for sure: Everyone loves the car, even with the ridiculous price tag that can start near $70,000. Consumer Reports even dubbed the car “off the charts,” as it gave the flashy ride a 99 out of 100 score in the magazine’s test — one of the highest scores ever.

Not only is the vehicle popular for its performance, but it’s also one of the safest cars around. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded Tesla’s Model S the highest overall vehicle safety score ever, recording a combined record of 5.4 stars.

The Model S captured 8.4% of the luxury segment halfway through 2013, which is remarkable, considering name-brand competitors have been in the market for decades longer. Tesla expects sales of its Model S to double next year as the company continues to ramp up production to meet demand.

The forward-looking company and impressive Model S vehicle have sent investors flying into the stock, sending it soaring this year.

TSLA data by YCharts.

Tesla’s Model S is disrupting the way the automotive industry has worked for the past century, something no one thought was possible. This story is long from over, as Tesla will have to prove it can bring down costs to transform the Model S from a niche vehicle to sell to the masses. Right now the company will continue to build out its supercharger stations to relieve consumer anxiety about range. The vehicle currently gets between 230 and 300 miles per charge, depending on the vehicle upgrades.

If Tesla can indeed accomplish bringing costs down and building a supercharger network across the nation, we could be witnessing one of the greatest American-made innovations of our lifetime. Who would have guessed it’d be an electric vehicle a decade ago — and an American one at that?

The article 2 Signs That American-Made Is Back originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Daniel Miller.

Fool contributor Daniel Miller owns shares of Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool recommends Ford and General Motors and owns shares of Ford.

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