Tesla (TSLA) Skips Key EV Industry Event

Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) will not be attending Plug-In 2013 this year, one of the key annual electric vehicle (EV) industry events.

Consumer Reports (CR) said that it should come as no surprise that Tesla isn't going; the company already builds a solid, long-range electric vehicle in the Model S and has installed scores of free chargers across the country. Not to mention the marked increase in sentiment that the company has brought to the electric car industry.

CR likened Tesla as the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) of the electric vehicle segment, a comparison that isn't hard to deny. The company has established its own standards and hasn't played nice with established companies like GM (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F). (Though, it does supply technology to Toyota (NYSE: TM), which also has a stake in the company.)

All this has come as Tesla's Model S starts in the same price-range as many well-equipped BMW and Mercedes-Benz models. It's also twice the price of the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf. At some point, buyers in the luxury EV segment will dry up.

But, Tesla should already be ready for the next-round of buyers long before then. Shares of Tesla ended 6.2 percent lower following a Model S fire scare earlier today.

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