Tesla Hopes To Win Government Loan To Build Electric Cars
Posted on: Saturday, 31 January 2009, 12:00 CST
In order to win a low-cost federal loan, Tesla announced on Friday it has scrapped plans to build an electric car plant in Silicon Valley, saying that it will opt for an abandoned factory elsewhere.
The slowing economy essentially ended the company’s hope of getting 100-million-dollars in venture capital money to build a "Model S" sedan plant in the city of San Jose in Silicon Valley, the AFP reported.
Tesla had prepared to start construction on the factory in mid-2009 in San Carlos, California, about 20 minutes from the company’s headquarters.
Tesla had chosen an 89-acre lot to build a 500,000-square-foot plant to roll out four-door, all-electric sedans.
The U.S. Department of Energy provides low-interest loan money to fund development of "brownfield" sites, factories or plants no longer in use, but numerous other carmakers are competing for the loans.
The company would need a 250-million-dollar loan to build a sedan plant.
Tesla senior communications manager Rachel Konrad said the company couldn’t do anything that may jeopardize securing the federal loan.
"That's one of the reasons we are now planning to develop on a brownfield site instead of the greenfield site in San Jose."
Konrad said Tesla is in late-stage negotiations with another site for its Model S sedan plant and expects to begin production in 2011 as originally planned.
In March, the company will unveil a "Model S" car from its Hawthorne, California, design studio.
The five-passenger "Model S" sedan is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack they say can power the car for about 240 miles (385 kilometers) per charge. The car has an estimated price of 60,000 dollars.
The company’s other zero-emission car, the two-seat "Roadster" sports car, is assembled in Britain and sold in Europe and the US with a 109,000-dollar starting price.
Founded in 2003, Tesla specializes in the environmentally friendly electric cars that many car manufacturers are starting to produce.
PayPal co-founder Elon Musk and Google founders Serge Brin and Larry Page are current investors in the company.
---
On the Net:
Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
Related Articles
- Intergraph(R) SmartPlant Isometrics with INOVx Creates Piping Isometric Drawings from 'As-Built' Plant Models
- Green Plants for Green Buildings Issues 'Earth Day' Challenge!
- Forest City Announces Redevelopment Agreement for Historic Presidio Building in San Francisco
- Torry Harris Business Solutions to Present "SOA Implementation Using an Offshore-Onsite Model, for Build and Maintenance in Telecom" at SOA Telecom Conference
- / CORRECTION -- Production Plant Design Commences at La Millonaria Site
- Panel to Hand Out Loans for Site Cleanup
- Ethanol Plant To Be Built In San Jose
- NuPower to Build Wood-Burning Site in Plainfield
- Endesa Investee Reganosa Takes Out a Euro 416 Million Loan to Finance the Construction of the Mugardos Regasification Plant; The Gas Terminal Will Supply a Combined Cycle Plant Endesa is Building in As Pontes
 |
 |
User Comments (1)
| 1. |
Posted by Bob on 01/31/2009, 23:27 I would feel better about giving Tesla a half billion grant than giving the 'big three' half a million. Over 200 miles on a charge is exactly what America needs, a way to tell the OPEC to pump gas. The innovation from the concept has been stellar, and to bring this technology to the table now is imperative. The new administration needs to cut all tax strings to the purchase of EV's. Get them out there, on the road. What Tesla needs is a Steve Jobs. Think. Period. I just need a car to get to work. It took Hitler to push the VW. But the world needs a new, no frills, basic, cheap way, like the Beetle started. It is time. Somebody start doing it, NOW. |
RSS Feeds