Iceland's first Tesla Motor S EVs bought sight unseen

Iceland's first importer of Tesla Model S electric vehicles said his first seven sales were made to buyers who'd never seen the car. With the vehicles now in the country, he now says he hopes to have 25 sold by the end of the year, according to Plug In Cars.

Our friend Gisli Gislason – we reported in June that his original target was 50 Tesla sales by year-end – has given 60 test rides in his Model S. It's the only one in the country, and has already seen 3,400 very quiet, emission-free miles. Since Iceland's population is about one-one-thousandth of the US population, those 25 vehicles, at the same vehicle per capita ratio, equal 25,000 vehicles here in the states.

Gislason's company, EVEN, specializes in importing electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf to Iceland, where gasoline is about twice as expensive as it is in the US and where plentiful hydropower keeps electricity costs down to about half of what they are in the US. In nearby Norway, Tesla has made a big splash with early sale and the start of a European Supercharger network. Tesla sales are expected to reach 1,000 units by the end of the year in Norway.

Gislason's focus on ginning sales in Iceland means sometimes offering the personal touch. He was kind enough to loan out his Tesla to Tomas Kristjansson and Berglind Anna Zoega for their wedding in Reykjavik last month, according to The New York Times. The couple's regular car is a Nissan Leaf.