Tesla cars

Tesla will produce all-electric sedan in California in 2010

Tesla announced it will build a $250 million facility to manufacture a zero-emission luxury sedan in the heart of Silicon Valley in California. Production for the vehicle known as the Model S will begin in 2010. This 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.

Before the sedan debuts, Tesla may have some catching up to do. It has delivered about 30 Roadsters so far, and about 1,200 people have put down deposits to reserve a Roadster.

Press release after the jump.

Tesla’s future sedan rendering

As you know Tesla is working on an all-electric sedan known as the Model S and set to be unveiled in 2010. According to AutoCar the car might look like this.

The car will be a five-seater model. It will be significantly longer than the Elise-based Roadster that has just gone on sale, and will be built on its own standalone platform, developed by Tesla. The car should use a high-powered electric motor running utilizing lithium- ion batteries. The price for this model is expected to be around $60,000.

Tesla Hires Mazda’s Lead Designer

Last Thursday, Tesla took a giant step to becoming a complete carmaker. Franz von Holzhausen resigned from Mazda and became the lead designer for the electric car company. At Mazda, von Holzhausen was Director of Design for the R&D Design Center in Irvine CA. While his name may not be very well known, his work is. Von Holzhausen created the Nagare and Furai concepts, and played a key role in the development of the Ryuga, Hakaze and Taiki concepts. His resume also includes VW’s Concept One and Microbus, as well as GM’s Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky.

The acquisition of von Holzhausen is seen as a step towards Tesla’s plan to produce a range of new cars according to the famed designer. "It’s going to be an exciting adventure," stated von Holzhausen "I’m looking forward to working at a new startup company that doesn’t have the confines of a large OEM." While the Roadster was designed by Lotus, Tesla founder and Chairman Elon Musk is "looking to produce electric vehicles for the masses and wanted to bring design in house."

Tesla #6 crash

Electric cars have come under scrutiny because blind pedestrians can’t hear them coming when they try to cross the street. I guess this Mercedes C-Class owner couldn’t hear this Tesla coming either.

This electric sports car has been identified as Tesla #6. Tesla doesn’t have many cars on the road, so when one crashes, it can actually be identified. Considering that the waiting list for a new Tesla Roadster is over 1,000 people long, let’s hope the owner can just get his car fixed.

Tesla working on $30,000 all-electric car?

Electric cars are usually the enemy of performance. They are usually glorified golf carts that are a toy for the rich and infirm to get around a sleepy resort town. Telsa has been the company that has done the most damage to that image. Its Lotus Elise based roadster is the only true sports car that requires to be plugged-in at night. But the company is looking to be much more than a one-trick electric pony. After we’ve already brought you its plans for a future sedan, Tesla is now looking to put together a third project for its lowest price yet, $30,000.

Tesla’s founder, Elon Musk is looking to partner with a major auto company to build this budget all-electric car. When asked why Tesla is focused on all-electric cars as opposed to the gas-electric hybrids that the major manufactures are producing, Musk said, "(gas-electric) need both a gasoline-powered engine and a big battery, neither can be very good, and the engine will be a weak engine. It’s just not where the future lies. We’ll be able to offer a car (all-electric) with a 305-mile range roughly three years from now."

He’s got a green mind and a performance mind — nothing wrong with that!

Tesla will supply Mercedes with lithium ion batteries

After confirming yesterday the future sedan, today there are rumors saying that Tesla will supply Mercedes’ future electric cars with lithium ion batteries.

It seems that Tesla is much farther ahead in the development of long-lasting and durable lithium ion batteries than Mercedes is, which is why they opted to purchasing the batteries, instead of making them.

Mercedes will launch its first electric cars in 2010. One will be based on the A-Class and one will come from Smart.

Tesla confirmed Model S electric sedan

Tesla announced today that the future electric sedan will be built at Bay Area. Sales will begin in two years.

The sedan, know internally as the Model S will the firm’s second-generation automobile, it is expected to cost about $60,000 and will go into production by late 2010, company officials say.

State officials said companies like Tesla are essential in helping to meet California’s ambitious goal under the landmark legislation AB32, which requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020.

"We believe that electric vehicles will play a big role in helping California succeed in implementing its landmark climate change laws," Dresslar said.

Future Tesla hybrid sedan to be built in California

tesla roadster

Tesla is ready to reveal its plans for a brand new hybrid sedan planned for production at a new plant in Bay Area, California, no sooner than 2010. Tesla’s management preferred California to New Mexico for the new plant as there are more obviously advantages such as sales tax exemption on the purchase of manufacturing equipment and grants for training its new employees.

The new model nick named Model S will be a plug- in hybrid vehicle completed with a compact internal combustion engine. The sole drive system will feature a high powered electric motor running on the batteries, which are supposed to be of lithium- ion type. The price for this model is expected to be around $60,000. It’ s design is similar to rival niche automaker Fisker Automotive. Tesla officially claims that the rival has stolen the original designs to develop its own Karma plug- in hybrid.

Fisker sued by Tesla

Fisker is in trouble! Tesla sued them! Why? Simple: for stealing design ideas. Last year Tesla hired Henrik Fisker, a Danish-born designer who is known for his work on high-end exotic sports cars, to do the body design for a four-seat sedan, code-named White Star.

The Tesla lawsuit contends that Mr. Fisker and his chief operating officer, Bernhard Koehler, doing business under the name Fisker Coachbuild, fraudulently agreed to take on Tesla’s $875,000 design contract to gain access to confidential design information and trade secrets, then announced a competing vehicle. Last fall Mr. Fisker founded Fisker Automotive, which is backed by the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Both the planned Tesla sedan and Mr. Fisker’s recently announced Karma are meant to be hybrid cars using a small gas engine to power a generator that charges a battery, which in turn powers an electric motor. The design, known as a serial hybrid, is thought to greatly extend the range and efficiency of hybrid vehicles.

The Tesla lawsuit states that before doing the design work for Tesla, Mr. Fisker had no experience with hybrid technology. It says that he did substandard work for Tesla, essentially sabotaging it, and then used the revenue from the design contract to develop his company’s car.

European debut for Tesla Roadster announced in 2009

Tesla CEO Ze’ev Drori announced that the Tesla Roadster will hit the European showrooms in Fall 2009. According to Mr. Drori the car, which will be priced under €100,000, will be a big hit especially due to the tax benefits for zero-emissions cars.

The main targets for the car will be countries such as Germany, France, Norway, Denmark and Netherlands. You may wonder why these countries were chosen first, right? It is because all of them are building a recharging network for supporting electric cars. In Denmark for example, the network is built in order to suport the electric cars made by Renault. However, the car will not be available in the United Kingdom because the manufacturer builds for the moment only left-hand-drive cars.