The Auto Writer

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.