Tesla is the latest car maker to tap the kid market with a scale model version of its electronic sedan
What do you buy for the child who has everything? A kids' size version of the Tesla Model S built to scale of course.
For the pocket-money price of £346, the Tesla Model S for Kids has working headlights, a sound system and a rechargeable battery. Available from May, the electric sedan drives at a maximum speed of six miles an hour, although this can be limited to three miles an hour.
Parents with their own Tesla can even choose a matching one for their lucky offspring, as the toy cars come in a range of “authentic Tesla Model S colours”, including deep blue metallic and classic red.
Electric car maker Tesla is headed up by by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has a string of successful businesses to his name including electronic payments processing business PayPal. But unwieldy capital spending and wider market challenges mean Tesla is not making a profit. Despite a rise in revenue, Tesla's losses widened in the fourth quarter.
Tesla is not the first car company to target the children's market.
In 2011, Porsche released a mini 918 Spyder for just £99 and Ferrari has also marketed pint-sized versions of its cars.
Actev Motors unveiled the £419 Arrow Smart-Kart last week, with a top speed of 12 miles per hour and lots of jazzy extras like built-in WiFi.
“Simple battery-powered ride-on cars don't excite today's kids – they seek high-tech interactive experiences,” said Dave Bell, chief executive of Actev Motors.
Heaven knows what they would have thought of a 1980s Noddy car then.
There is a growing range of high-tech toys available to kids now, including a Barbie hoverboard drone that can actually fly from toy maker Mattel and your very own BB-8 droid like the one in last year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens.