Tesla Motors

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#669966" TEXT="#080000" background="5c801573.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>HotV8 Sports Car Buyers Guide</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HotV8 Sports Car Buyers Guide">home</A>                                            <B>back to</B>  <A HREF="sports_car_index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sports Car Index">Sports Car Index</A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="sports_car_index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sports Car Index">Sports Car Index</A>   |   <A HREF="editorial.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Editorial">Editorial</A>   |   <A HREF="auto_racing.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Auto Racing">Auto Racing</A>   |   <A HREF="boat_racing.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boat Racing">Boat Racing</A>   |   <A HREF="about_us.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us">About Us</A></div> <div> <I><B>Tesla Motors</B></I></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="4a0d2013.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="bmw_x6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BMW X6">BMW X6</A></div> <div> <A HREF="pontiac_solstice.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pontiac Solstice">Pontiac Solstice</A></div> <div> <A HREF="bmw_m3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BMW M3">BMW M3</A></div> <div> <B>Tesla Motors</B></div> <div> <A HREF="mercedes_benz_c_class.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mercedes Benz C Class">Mercedes Benz C Class</A></div> <div> <A HREF="ford_fusion.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ford Fusion">Ford Fusion</A></div> <div> <A HREF="volvo_c30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volvo C30">Volvo C30</A></div> <div> <A HREF="volvo_s60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volvo S60">Volvo S60</A></div> <div> <A HREF="volvo_s80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volvo S80">Volvo S80</A></div> <div> <A HREF="volvo_xc70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volvo XC70">Volvo XC70</A></div> <div> <A HREF="mercedes_benz_r_class_wagon.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mercedes Benz R Class Wagon">Mercedes Benz R Class Wagon</A></div> <div> <A HREF="e63_amg_wagon.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mercedes Benz E63 AMG Wagon">Mercedes Benz E63 AMG Wagon</A></div> <div> <A HREF="nissan_gt_r.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nissan GT R">Nissan GT R</A></div> <div> <A HREF="nissan_350z.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nissan 350Z">Nissan 350Z</A></div> <div> <A HREF="honda_s2000.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Honda S2000">Honda S2000</A></div> <div> <A HREF="other_cars.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Other CARS">Other CARS</A></div> <div> <A HREF="volvo_for_life.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volvo for Life">Volvo for Life</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Made By:</B> </div> <div> <B>Started Business:</B> N/A</div> <div>  <B>Corporate Official site:</B> N/A</div> <div>  <B>Dealer Official site:</B> N/A</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="4a399170.gif" border=0 width="153" height="23" ALT="NY Times logo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <A HREF="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/tesla-motorss-second-electric-car-will-be-made-in-silicon-valley/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/17"><IMG SRC="4a2326f0.png" border=0 width="562" height="111" ALT="NY Times Biits logo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <div> September 17, 2008</div> <div> Tesla Motors’ Second Electric Car Will Be Made in Silicon Valley</div> <div> By Claire Cain Miller NY Times</div> <div> <IMG SRC="4a4be840.jpg" border=0 width="190" height="132" ALT="Tesla Motors Roadster" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="0">Tesla Motors’ second all-electric car, the Model S, is one step closer to reality.</div> <bR> <div> On Wednesday morning, the company will announce a deal to lease 89 acres of land in San Jose, Calif., to build a company headquarters and a 600,000-square-foot plant to produce the battery-powered Model S sedan. (The company’s first model, the $109,000 Roadster, which is assembled in Britain and California and has a one-year waiting list.)</div> <bR> <div> “This could bring 1,000 green-collar manufacturing jobs, which we’re trying to get back after losing a lot in the bust,” said Chuck Reed, San Jose’s mayor.</div> <bR> <div> Tesla is the most recent clean technology company to set up manufacturing in Silicon Valley. “We have had a change here in the last year in manufacturing jobs, and Tesla is the latest,” Mr. Reed said, citing thin-film solar companies that are also manufacturing in the region. </div> <bR> <div> The Model S will drive on the power from a lithium-ion battery pack and will be able to travel about 200 miles a charge. It will hit the roads at the end of 2010, the San Carlos, Calif., company said, and will sell for around $60,000. </div> <bR> <div> Tesla generates a lot of excitement in Silicon Valley, thanks in part to high-profile backers that include Jeff Skoll, former president of eBay; Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google; and Tesla chairman Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal. Venture capital investors include Capricorn Investment Group, Technology Partners, VantagePoint Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. </div> <bR> <div> The decision to manufacture the Model S in California came as a surprise when it was announced in June. Tesla backed out of an earlier agreement to open the plant in New Mexico. Ze’ev Drori, Tesla’s chief executive since November, wanted the car to be made in California, where Tesla has been based since its founding in 2003. </div> <bR> <div> “Silicon Valley is the birthplace of the silicon revolution. Now Silicon Valley is going to be a birthplace again, this time of the clean tech industry, and Tesla epitomizes that industry,” he said. </div> <bR> <div> California made it easy by offering Tesla incentives worth around $15 million and possibly more, Mr. Drori said. That includes waiving rent for the first 10 years of the 40-year lease on the San Jose property and waiving state sales tax on $100 million worth of equipment. New Mexico had reportedly reportedly offered Tesla around $7 million worth of incentives. </div> <bR> <div> The news comes after a difficult year for Tesla. Mr. Drori became chief executive in November, after the former chief, Martin Eberhard, was ousted in August. The company has also suffered layoffs and production delays, as VentureBeat reported. </div> <bR> <div> In April, Tesla sued a former design consultant for stealing information and starting a competing company, reported The Times’ John Markoff. </div> <bR> <div> Mr. Drori said the company now has no production delays and the lawsuit is in arbitration. Tesla is currently seeking to raise $100 million in financing in addition to the $155 million it has already raised, he said.</div> <bR> <div> The Tesla Roadster Rated Best New Car 2007</div> <div> <B>0-to-60 mph acceleration time:</B> 4.0 noiseless seconds</div> <div> <IMG SRC="0be580e0.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="270" ALT="Tesla Roadster" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="7" VSPACE="0">Saturday, July 22, 2006; </div> <div> Detroit is floundering, gas prices are rising --</div> <bR> <div> Now Silicon Valley is stepping in with a practical-cool solution: </div> <bR> <div> A sexy, and fast electric car that uses the same lithium ion batteries found in your cellphone or laptop.</div> <bR> <div> The Tesla Roadster goes from zero to 60 in four noiseless seconds, has a top speed of 135 mph and can roam for more than 200 miles before needing a recharge.</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Culled from Netscape search</B></I> & <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/21/AR2006072101515.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con">washingtonpost.com</A></div> <bR> <div> This is not your father's electric car. The $100,000 vehicle, with its sports car looks, is more Ferrari than Prius -- and more about testosterone than granola</div> <bR> <div> Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors Inc. raised $60 million in financing from San Francisco Bay area tech giants to get this car on the road. Those famous Toyota Prius owners Larry Page and Sergey Brin -- yes, the Google guys -- have invested, as have executives from eBay Inc. and PayPal.</div> <div> The company is headed by entrepreneur Martin Eberhard, the man once behind a gadget called the RocketeBook.</div> <bR> <div> That product, sort of an iPod for books, didn't catch on, but Eberhard sold the company in 2000 to the media company Gemstar for $187 million</div> <bR> <div> Fittingly for a car designed in Silicon Valley, the Roadster comes with built-in satellite navigation technology and an iPod dock that allows drivers to control the music player via the car's standard Blaupunkt stereo.</div> <bR> <div> Owners will be able to check their service records online, naturally.</div> <div> And, of course, there's a blog.</div> <bR> <div> At the Tesla Web site, Eberhard started making his case for the car and his company this week. Bottom line: Electric cars don't have to be for wimps.</div> <bR> <div> "Most electric cars were designed by and for people who fundamentally don't think we should drive," Eberhard said in his Wednesday blog posting. "We at Tesla Motors love cars."</div> <bR> <div> Unlike most electric cars, the company's literature notes, the Tesla Roadster holds enough juice to make the round trip between Silicon Valley and the Pebble Beach Golf Links.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0fae4670.jpg" border=0 width="228" height="103" ALT="Tesla 0" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> While the flashy two-seater may be too expensive for most buyers to consider, the community of electric car aficionados has received Tesla warmly.</div> <bR> <div> David Goldstein, president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Greater Washington D.C., said the Tesla is "the most exciting thing to happen to [electric vehicles] in a long time."</div> <bR> <div> "It tells the public that electric cars are not those slow, silly cars that some companies have built in the past," he said.</div> <bR> <div> The Tesla Roadster was unveiled this week in Santa Monica. California Gov.</div> <bR> <div> Arnold Schwarzenegger made a surprise appearance and was taken on a test spin -- it was unclear yesterday if Schwarzenegger showed up to the event in one of the gas-guzzling Hummers he has sometimes favored.</div> <bR> <div> Tesla Motors started taking orders for the car this week, though a publicist would not say how many customers the company has signed up.</div> <bR> <div> The first production models should be delivered next year, he said. A sedan is also on the drawing board, tentatively scheduled for an appearance in 2008.</div> <bR> <div> Tesla has plans to open sales locations in Los Angeles and San Francisco this year, and in Chicago, New York and Miami by the end of 2007.</div> <bR> <div> Buyers outside those areas will be charged a $10,000 out-of-service-area premium to cover costs for transporting the vehicle for servicing during the life of the car.</div> <bR> <div> Only 10 Tesla Roadsters have been built so far.</div> <div> Four are on the West Coast, to charm prospective buyers there, and the other six are in Britain and scheduled for use in safety tests.</div> <bR> <div> British carmaker Group Lotus Plc is building the cars at its factory on a contract basis.</div> <bR> <div> Lotus submitted a winning concept design for the car and Tesla Motors lured several executives and engineers away from the British company during the three years the Tesla Roadster was secretly in development.</div> <bR> <div> At auto aficionado Web sites, first impressions of the car have been highly favorable, though some knocked the car for looking a bit too much like the British carmaker's Elise sports car.</div> <bR> <div> Asked one critic, posting at Autoblog.com: "Why not just buy a Lotus Elise and use some of the $40,000+ you save to buy some gas?"</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>