PayPal Founder Builds Electric Cars in San Jose

FastLaneKen

Never Forgotten
Anyone heard about this little car company, started by a PayPal Guy building electric cars using Laptop batteries? This just makes our Big Three look Fat and Lazy. The price of these cars will only come down once they ramp up production - Shame-on the Big Three or should I say the Broken Three?

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Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors to Produce All-electric Luxury Sedan in California
Tesla Motors to assemble all-electric Model S luxury sedan and build corporate campus in heart of Silicon Valley

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Tesla Motors Inc. plans to build a $250 million facility to manufacture a zero-emission luxury sedan in the heart of Silicon Valley. The nation’s leading all-electric car company will also relocate its corporate headquarters and research and development efforts to a consolidated campus in San Jose, Calif.

Tesla President and CEO Ze'ev Drori announced Wednesday that construction on the 89-acre site would begin in the summer of 2009. When fully operational, the facility will employ approximately 1,000 workers.

Tesla selected San Jose in part because the region already enjoys a high concentration of highly skilled engineers and support infrastructure. The factory – expected to achieve gold certification from U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) – will be 20 miles from the current headquarters in San Carlos, minimizing inconvenience for more than 250 employees.

“Big deals like this happen when both parties have something significant to gain,†said Drori, who praised San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed’s 15-year “Green Vision†job-creation initiative. “Locating Tesla’s headquarters, manufacturing and R&D in San Jose will allow us to proceed with minimum disruptions and virtually no dislocations.â€

Model S is Tesla’s zero-emission, five-passenger luxury sedan powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. It is expected to have a base price of about $60,000 and get about 240 miles per charge with exceptional performance. The first sedans will likely roll off the assembly line in late 2010.

Tesla’s first production vehicle is the Roadster, a zero-emission, all-electric, two-seat sports car. On sale now in the United States and Europe, the Roadster is assembled at a Group Lotus PLC factory in Hethel, U.K. Tesla has no plans to move Roadster production.

Tesla, which has delivered about 30 Roadsters so far, announced last week it was ramping up production amid scorching demand. About 1,200 people have put down deposits to reserve a Roadster.

Tesla also announced recently a string of high-profile hires with deep industry expertise. Executive Vice President Mike Donoughe, who spent 24 years at Chrysler, is overseeing Tesla’s Model S and Roadster programs. Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja was formerly controller at Ford. Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen, former director of design for Mazda North America, is designing the Model S.

“Tesla has amazing momentum right now. The excitement within the company is palpable,†said Tesla Product Architect and Chairman Elon Musk. “The company has clearly taken production of all-electric vehicles to the next level, and the Model S assembly plant will dramatically accelerate our growth."

About Tesla Motors

Incorporated in 2003 in California’s Silicon Valley, Tesla Motors Inc. develops and manufactures electric vehicles with exceptional design, performance and efficiency, while conforming to all US and EU safety, environmental and durability standards. The Roadster is a zero-emission, all-electric two-seater for sale now in the United States and Europe. With a 0-to-60 mph acceleration of 3.9 seconds, a 14,000 rpm redline, and the fastest top-gear acceleration of any production car tested by Car & Driver magazine last year, the Roadster is unique in providing super car performance, zero emissions and extraordinary efficiency.
 
I am sorry to say but it may be better to let the big three fold an let someone else try to get it right.
 
I am sorry to say but it may be better to let the big three fold an let someone else try to get it right.

I agree. Big 3's business model isn't going to succeed anytime soon, and I'm afraid to see what's gonna happen with the Bailout money.
 
The executives going to bail with it an let the companies crash an burn an laugh all the way out the door knowing they hooked them selves up an their descendants.
 
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