Introduced in March, the 2012 Tesla S sedan is being aimed to reach a broader audience, a higher volume car than the Roadster which is now in production.

Priced To Attract Mainstream Buyers

Unlike the Tesla Roadster which is priced north of six figures, the Tesla S is expected to retail for about $57,000, but cost approximately $49,900 after the federal tax credit has been included. That puts the Tesla S in Jaguar XF territory, the British luxury car that seems closest to the S in design.

Seating seven passengers the unique glass roof and hatch combination provides a sky view of the interior.

Clearly, the environmental aspect of the Tesla S is an important marketing tool for Tesla Motors. The car emits no emissions and is expected to have a range of about 300 miles on pure electric power. Tesla is also working to build an onboard QuickCharge device which will allow the sedan to recharge in as little as 45 minutes, perhaps the amount of time travelers would spend at a restaurant while in the middle of a lengthy trip. Recharge car, recharge self and go!

Why Buy A Toyota When You Go With A Tesla?

Tesla is touting the sedan’s lower cost of ownership to attract buyers. Unlike the Roadster, which is aimed toward exotic car enthusiasts, Tesla’s approach with the S is to attract mainstream buyers who might be attracted to a Toyota Avalon or BMW 3-Series. Instead of choosing a car with a lower base price, but ongoing ownership costs the Tesla S would cost more from the beginning but have much lower ownership costs over the life of the model.

One is such a lonely number when it comes to electric vehicles, especially if that vehicle is a low production model. Tesla Motors is aiming for mass-production when the sedan goes on sale late 2011, extending brand reach to buyers who might consider a Ford Taurus or Honda Accord instead.

Source: Tesla Motors

Related Reading — Is There A Tesla In Your Future?

America’s Little Electric Car Company To Build A New Factory In California

Tesla Motors has snapped up 89 acres of land in San Jose, California where the company expects to break ground for a new 600,000 square foot factory and company headquarters. The site will produce Tesla’s newest vehicle — dubbed the “S Model” — a sedan that is expected to retail in the neighborhood of $60,000 when it goes into production in 2010 according to the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal.

Founded in California in 2003, Tesla Motors had said previously that they were looking at a site in New Mexico to build their latest model, but decided to stay in California when the state offered a ten year rent abatement and promised to waive state sales tax for California residents who buy the company’s new sedan.  As many as 1,000 new jobs combined are expected to be created for the factory and corporate headquarters.

First A Roadster

Earlier this year, Tesla Motors began building the Tesla Roadster, an all-electric model that is assembled on a Lotus assembly line in England. That car can travel as far as 244 miles on a single charge and propel occupants from 0 to 60 in just 3.9 seconds. Tesla is one of the first automakers to use a lithium-ion battery in a production car, the same type of battery that General Motors will be using for the Chevrolet Volt when it comes to market late in 2010.

Now A Sedan

This past June I mentioned that the state of California was wooing Tesla to build the Whitestar (or White Star) in California, by offering an incentive package better than what the company was to receive from the state of New Mexico. At that time I mentioned that the sedan would seat four five passengers, but little else is known about the car.

Supposedly, Tesla Motors will position the car to compete against select BMW, Audi, and Mercedes models, but little else has been said about the sedan. Talk of extending the sedan’s range by incorporating a small, gas engine have also surfaced, but nothing definitive has been said.

You probably can’t afford the Tesla Roadster and most motorists won’t be able to afford the Tesla Whitestar either, but that isn’t stopping upstart Tesla Motors from going ahead with its plans to expand its model line up. News reports are leaking out today that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to announce  that the Golden State has beat out New Mexico in a battle to win Tesla sedan production for his state.

Schwarzenegger didn’t have to dangle a tremendous amount of money to win the contest, reportedly $9 million in incentives, which is about $2 million more than what New Mexico was offering Tesla. The monies will come from a fund California has in place to help companies purchase manufacturing equipment and through a grant to train new employees. In Tesla’s case, California would furnish the purchase of $100 million of equipment and at the end of the lease term Tesla Motors would have the option to buy the equipment without paying sales tax.

The vehicle to be built, code-named the Model S, is expected to be a four door sedan with a retail cost of about $60,000, some $40,000 less than the Roadster, a model which went on sale earlier this year. Production for the new sedan, which will hold four adults, should begin in late 2010 about the same time General Motors rolls out its own electric car, the Chevy Volt.

(Source: San Francisco Chronicle)

Today marks the end of June, the halfway point for the year. And what a year it has been!

Gas prices are the topic of many conversations and the news across the US auto industry is glum. Everyone is down save for a few automakers (Honda) whose fleet is dominated by fuel efficient vehicles. The prospects for the second half of the year aren’t particularly bright, strongly suggesting that when 2008 has been put in the history books, it’ll be a watershed moment for car manufacturers.

Short of wringing our hands and wishing things weren’t so, the pressure GM, Ford, and Chrysler are facing may be a good thing for the long term. Additional smaller models are being planned; new technologies that increase fuel economy, power, while reducing emissions are now being used; and in the case of GM and Ford their fleet quality has risen sharply. Chrysler, on the other hand, being the smallest of the three is a concern — the company’s long term may very well be at risk.

Some of the tops stories on The Auto Writer this year include the following:

Tesla Alleges Fisker Design Thievery — Yes, the Tesla Roadster is finally out and fresh on its heels may be the Fisker Karma, another electric beauty. Tesla, however, is having some heartburn over the Fisker design, alleging all kinds of things about Fisker. The last bit of news I’ve heard about this is that Fisker wants to go to arbitration to settle Tesla’s suit. Hmmm….

Is The Dodge Magnum A Lemon — I actually wrote this article for a lawyer in 2005 or 2006 who then decided to stiff me when he changed the terms of our agreement. I kept the article, but decided to publish it in 2007 because, well, it is an interesting subject. Apparently, my readers think so too because it is also the most commented on article ever for this blog. Not just simple comments, mind you, but details about why their Magnums are problem plagued. To be fair, I like the Magnum’s looks and I drive a Neon myself, but if there are problems with a car, then sharing that information with others can be beneficial.

Cadillac Showcases One New Model & Two Concepts — You know that I don’t get out all that much when I point to the highlight of the year as being my trip to Detroit in mid-January. I visited the NAIAS as the guest of GM (a wonderful host, btw) and was able to see up close and personal several new or proposed models including the CTS coupe. Many of my January articles focused on the Detroit show giving me a clearer picture of where the industry is and where it is headed.

Which Brand Has The Best Resale Value? — Quite a few people were surprised to learn that Volkswagen finished on top, given its quality problems over the years. I was surprised too, but I attribute some of it doing so well, because their retail prices are competitive. Now, with all small cars actually increasing in value, buying a VW could be a good move. Maybe not.

Watch Group Alleges Widespread Toyota Labor Abuse — Toyota is the new #1, but the bigger they are the harder they fall! One labor rights group recently shined the light on Toyota’s labor practices and the news is pretty sad. True, many of the companies in question are suppliers, but Toyota has to be aware that some of these practices (i.e., low wages, long hours, miserable working conditions) are going on. If not, then Toyota has some serious ‘splaining to do. Come to think of it, they’ll have to explain what they plan to do no matter what.

The Rising Value of Your Fuel Efficient Car — Do you own a ’94 Tercel? How about a ’01 Neon or an ’04 Civic? The value of your car has likely increased in the face of $4 gasoline. Before you take your clunker to the junk yard, consider making the repairs necessary to keep your 35+ mpg car on the road — or sell it for a mint!

Lastly, thanks to everyone who has been reading this blog and contributing comments to add value to the discussion. I plan on keeping hard at it for the rest of the year, so please snag a feed to track what subjects I am covering.

Tesla Motors has a bone to pick with Fisker Automotive, a rival all-electric car producer (some day, maybe), accusing the company’s design firm, Fisker Coachbuild LLC, of stealing Tesla’s design for their next model, a four-door sports sedan. Tesla has filed suit against Fisker in a California court alleging that the Fisker stole the design for their own sedan, a concept which went on display at the Geneva Auto Show in March.

The design allegedly stolen was for the Tesla White Star and the vehicle in question is the Fisker Karma. Tesla paid Fisker Coachbuild $800,000 in 2007 for its design service which the company said was “substandard” and they decided not to use it. The lawsuit against Fisker and related parties seeks punitive damages and an injunction barring the defendants from using Tesla trade secrets and proprietary information to build a competing model.

Tesla Getting Sued Too

Tesla is also the recipient of a lawsuit, this one filed on behalf of Magna Powertrain which alleges it was never paid for design and development work completed on a two-speed transmission installed in the initial Tesla Roadster production run. The transmission was never used and Magna is suing Tesla for $5.6 million. Technical issues forced Tesla to scrap the transmission, one of many hold ups for the Roadster which is just now being produced.

Fisker Automotive Production Plans

While many consider the Fisker Karma to be a long shot (pipe dream, perhaps), the company says that their plug-in electric car will hold four people, travel 50 miles on a single battery charge, and be able to extend that range to 500 miles thanks to a one-gallon fuel engine that generates enough electricity to power the sedan.

The Fisker Karma is expected to retail for about $80,000 and the company says that its top speed is 125 mph with the ability to go from 0 to 60 in six seconds. The company is in discussions with American and German automotive manufacturers to use one of their plants to build the car.

(Source: Motor Trend & Wire Services)