Posted on 01/25/2010 4:28:22 PM PST by NormsRevenge
Tesla Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday finalized a landmark $465 million loan agreement that will allow the electric car maker to build a power train manufacturing plant in Palo Alto.
The agreement also paves the way for Tesla Motors to build a facility in Southern California where it will manufacture its upcoming all-electric Model S sedan.
It is only the second loan agreement the Department of Energy has signed with an "advanced technology vehicle manufacturer" under a program created in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The federal agency first reached a $5.9 billion loan agreement with Ford Motor Co. in September.
"We are honored that the U.S. government selected Tesla to be among the first companies to participate in this visionary program. This loan will allow us to further accelerate the production of affordable, fuel-efficient electric vehicles," Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk said in a statement on the company's Web site.
Best known for its sporty all-electric Roadster, Tesla Motors expects to begin delivering the seven-passenger Model S in 2011. The Southern California plant will allow the company to produce as many as 20,000 vehicles per year by the end of 2013, the Department of Energy said.
The Model S will have a range of up to 300 miles and take about 45 minutes to charge, according to Tesla Motors' Web site. Prices are expected to start just shy of $50,000.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Tesla Board of Directors makes an interesting read
http://www.teslamotors.com/learn_more/company_board.php
Kimbal Musk
Director
His prior and current board seats, in addition to Tesla Motors, are Medium, Inc., Everdream Corp., BlackBook Media, SpaceX Corp., and ProgressNow.org.
http://www.progressnow.org./
[The Model S will have a range of up to 300 miles and take about 45 minutes to charge]
Why do I just get the itchy feeling that that is too many amps to pull in 45 minutes through a 110 volt wall socket? Heck, you can only get one car battery to charge fully in an hour using a charger. So doing a whole bank in 45 minutes is cooking.
Whose going to buy this car?
Sounds very expensive to maintain, and not very convenient.
It would seem that if someone was vain enough to buy and drive an all-electric vehicle with all of its inconveniences, they’d look to buy the next generation Prius or another vehicle with a major manufacturer behind it.
Anytime you get rich used car salesmen around crooked politicians, you end up with the taxpayers slaving away their lives for NOTHING.
Another anagram for Tesla = Steal. Coincidence?
Where will they get the electricity? There are not enough power plants.
Do you think these “volkswagons” come with their own windmills?
The DOE continues to do everything it can to prolong and increase our dependence on foreign oil from the wrong people. The more government chooses and uses our money to subsidize “alternative” energy that does not work in the market place the londer we will avoid the clear solution of producing the oil we have and doing it better and letting the market drive innovation in its use.
Tesla Motors files for bankrupcy
-OR-
Tesla Motors moves production to China.
Must have strick out looking for a plant in the Detroit area.
That’s a very pretty car, sort of like a miata. You can just lash the kids to the top when you are taking them to school. And maybe when I’m rebuilding the engine to my 57 Bel Air (which has a trunk the size of the Tesla) I can just set the Chevy block in the back seat of the Tesla if I pop off the back window.
Here’s a bet. My 57 Bel Air will still be on the road 50 years from now (at 103) while any unrepairable Teslas left will be working as boat anchors.
struck out
An All-Electric Sedan, Awaiting Federal Aid NY Times ^ | March 26, 2009 | CLAIRE CAIN MILLER
The list is numbingly long.
I call PR
Most real thing on their website is the press release that they have hired a PR firm to issue press releases.
Like the "Tesla" front company that comes out with a fundraising press release every three months.
There is plenty of power in CA because all the manufacturing has left.
I support all-electric cars and the nuclear plants to provide the power supply.
I hope they design the plant so that it can be used for something else once the electric car stops being a fad we cannot afford.
If they can keep the cost at estimates, this is only 9,000 more than the GM Volt ... and it's all electric.
Pretty nice car, IMO.
is this where all the green jobs are?
They are not seriously in business. It's all paper. IPO's, pump and dump, etc.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.