Posted on 09/19/2010 9:42:02 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
When the NUMMI auto plant in Fremont shut down in April, many pronounced it dead -- a triple victim of the recession, sliding auto sales and General Motors' bankruptcy.
But NUMMI is about to be reborn. Electric-carmaker Tesla Motors, which stunned the world when it announced plans to purchase the plant in May, officially takes ownership Oct. 1.
Already, many Tesla employees call the plant the "Tesla Factory." Forty people regularly work out of a Tesla office that's been set up on the parking lot -- taking breaks under three red patio umbrellas similar to those at the company's Palo Alto headquarters. The various "shops," from body framing to paint, are being designed, and detailed diagrams and timelines paper the walls of hallways and conference rooms.
"I've been through a plant closure before, and it's heartbreaking," said Gilbert Passin, Tesla's vice president of manufacturing, as he strode through the cavernous auto plant in safety glasses and a red hard hat emblazoned with Tesla's logo. "To be able to give a second life to this facility and some of the people here -- it's thrilling for us to be in this position."
Tesla will use the Fremont factory to manufacture its Model S sedan. The all-electric car will seat five adults and have a battery range of up to 300 miles. So far, nearly 3,000 people have put down deposits to reserve the car. Tesla has promised the world that deliveries of the Model S will begin in 2012, an ambitious timeline that some say Tesla will be hard-pressed to meet.
"We know what we want to do. It's just a matter of getting it done," said Passin, who does not appear to be daunted by the work ahead of him...
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
and who’s gonna take it over when Tesla’s finished?
And how much does this cost us?
Is this the same company Al Gore has money in?
Is this outfit receiving federal funding, directly or indirectly?
See #6
Ronnie saves his NUMMIs on a window in his room
(A marvel to be seen: dysentery green)
While Kenny & his buddies had a game out in the back:
LET'S MAKE THE WATER TURN BLACK
LET'S MAKE THE WATER TURN BLACK
Frank Zappa, 1968
How much of taxpayers’ money is being used to buy it?
Silly me.
That's not so bad, then. I'm willing to risk $465 in taxpayer dollars to jumpstart a manufacturing concern, even if the product is PC.
thanks. That’s the initial hit, wonder where the rebates will end up?
You know you're in trouble when even the optimistic government estimate says we're spending $465,000 per job.
Probably China, if I had to guess.
No. The Tesla is 300 miles and you stop dead until you charge it. The Volt goes 40 miles on the battery and continues using a gas engine/generator power source until it runs out of gasoline, or you reach a filling station (of which there are well over 100,000 in the US).
If it uses a gasoline engine, isn’t it a hybrid, like the Toyota Prius, not an electric vehicle? And why so much for such a small car, then?
So, I’m assuming that the NUMMI/Tesla plant will be staffed by UAW workers. Is this correct? When Toyota operated this plant, it was the only union manned plant in Toyota’s USA operation. They closed it, and suddenly Toyota’s had a gas pedal problem that, at last count, has killed almost half of the population of the U.S. Only the heroic intervention of the U.S. government saved us from total annihilation. God bless Obama and the Transportation Department.
So now, the combination of the UAW and an electric car that no one wants will save the entire U.S. economy. Have I got this right?
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