Archive for the ‘Model S’ Category

Two adjacent Southern California cities have been competing for the factory where Tesla Motors will build its all-electric 2012 Model S luxury sports sedan. Now, a pair of local papers have scooped the automotive press and broken the news: Downey beats Long Beach.

Downey Mayor Mario Guerra told the Downey Patriot that the deal is "99.9 percent done," and the Downey City Council could meet as early as tonight to approve the deal that would turn the 80-acre former NASA site over to a development company on Tesla's behalf.

Tesla received $465 million of low-interest loans from the Department of Energy this summer. Those loans require that a...

A couple of weeks ago, Fisker gleefully announced fuel efficiency stats for its upcoming extended-range Karma sedan (67 mpg, though the math is a little fuzzy).  Now the upstart automaker has another reason to celebrate: the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded Fisker a $529 million low-interest loan, which will help the company develop the $87,000 Karma and the upcoming Nina, a lower-priced sedan that will ring in around $45,000.

Roughly $169 million of Fisker's loan will be applied toward development of the Fisker Karma. Those funds will go toward the design of tools, equipment for manufacturing, and coordination of materials from U.S....

Given its recent slide into profitability, its snazzy new production facility, and its lawsuit-free status, Tesla Motors has been on a bit of a roll lately. Not surprisingly, the company is hoping to capitalize on this forward momentum and propel itself to "major player" status in the U.S. auto market by 2016.

At the moment, the company only manufactures the $100,000+ Tesla Roadster, but Tesla recently received $465 million in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy to facilitate production of its Model S sedan, which is set to drop in 2011. Around $100 million of those loans will go toward the build-out of the Palo Alto facility, which...