Chris Woodyard

USA TODAY

NEW YORK -- Electric-car maker Tesla is one of the smaller automotive brands, but it is already cutting an outsized profile, according to findings of a study of influencers in the auto industry.

Tesla is ranked as the sixth most influential automaker in the study by Appinions, which says it "reviews full-text from online, offline and social sources" to determine what individuals and companies are most influencing others. The Auto Influence Study comes conjunction with this week's media preview of the New York Auto Show.

Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, ranks second among individuals behind General Motors CEO Mary Barra.

When it comes to automakers, the top five are General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and Volkswagen. Then comes Tesla, which is trailed by such big-name automakers as Honda, BMW and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler.

Besides the overall second-place ranking for Musk, he is considered the most influential executive when it comes to issues of technology or fuel economy by Appinions. He ranks above industry luminaries like Fiat-Chrysler's Sergio Marchionne or Ford's Alan Mulally.

"Elon Musk pushes two central issues, affordable electric vehicles and method of purchase for consumers," the report says. The "method of purchase" is apparently a reference to Tesla's high profile battles to sell cars directly to consumers in states that have strong auto dealer franchise laws.

Musk, the report says, "is the face of Tesla."

Despite its high profile in the realm of news and discussion, Tesla is a relatively small player in the auto industry so far. It sold 19,351 cars last year, all of them its only vehicle in production, the electric Model S, according to sales tracker Autodata. That's about equal to what Lexus sold in a single month, December.