Tesla to build new ($60,000) electric (5 passenger) sedan in Bay Area (in late 2010)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/30/BATH11GGP2.DTL

Tesla to build new electric sedan in Bay Area

Matthew Yi, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau

Monday, June 30, 2008

(06-30) 04:00 PDT Sacramento --

Tesla Motors, the maker of electric-powered roadsters, will announce today that it has chosen the Bay Area to build a manufacturing plant for its new model, an electric sedan that is expected to go into production in two years.

The San Carlos company had been widely expected to build its new manufacturing facility in New Mexico, which reportedly had dangled an incentive package worth $7 million.

But the firm instead chose California because it offered a pair of its own financial incentives: a sales tax exemption on the purchase of manufacturing equipment and grants for training its new employees, state officials said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has ordered a $100,000 Tesla Roadster of his own, and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, both of whom helped broker the deal with Tesla, are expected to join company officials who are announcing the deal today.

...

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN3027051420080630

California offers tax break to keep Tesla in state

Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:33pm EDT

SAN CARLOS, California (Reuters) - Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc said on Monday it will manufacture the lower-priced follow-up to its Roadster sports car in California after the state offered a tax break to keep the operations there.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking at Tesla's headquarters in San Carlos, California, said he was determined to prevent the automaker from setting up shop in New Mexico, which had offered it better incentives.

...

Tesla will use the tax break to build its second-generation electric car, called the Model S, in Northern California. The five-passenger sedan will cost about $60,000 and is expected to go into production in late 2010.

...

At the press conference on Monday, Tesla Chairman Elon Musk said the company was working on producing an all-electric car that would sell for under $30,000 and appeal to a wider market.

...

[Dawgs]

1. $60,000 still high for almost every American.

Although, I do like seeing that the electric car is on its way back.

[carlyhippy]

2. yep, wondercars only the rich can afford.....

their under 30,000 car will probably be bare bones, a fancy go cart. 30,000 is still too much for a vehicle, they will mass produce these and only a few will be able to get one, regular Joes get to pay 7.00 gal for gas. I am glad to see that there is some progress in finding a better way, just lower the price so everyone can share the good fortune

[elocs]

4. A $3000 3 wheel car I nearly bought in 1980, the Freeway II:

From 3Autos.com back in 2006:

This odd duck is a 1980 Freeway II Deluxe, a single-cylinder gas miser engineered by Minnesota-based High Mileage Vehicles Corp. (HMV). Designed to get 110 mpg, the company certainly paired things down to the bare minimum in an effort to achieve that figure-- the awkward-looking trike is a single-seater, with the bare minimum of gauges and no visible driver amenities, save a sunroof.

I didn't get it, but I did see one around town back then. It was licensed as a motorcycle. Imagine if one of our domestic car companies had developed these kind of ideas over the years.

[Greyskye]

6. These 3-wheelers will run you a bit more...

...but they sure look a lot better!

The Aptera (www.aptera.com):

The approximate price for the all electric version is $27,000 and the plug-in hybrid $30,000. These prices are subject to change any time before we begin production.




The Carver/VentureOne (www.flytheroad.com):

[carlyhippy]

7. Those are cool

carly

[elocs]

9. It is cool, but I don't know if it's $27-30,000 cool. n/t

[Greyskye]

10. Agreed. Which is why...

...this is much more likely to be my next commuter vehicle:

"A zero emissions street legal Electric Motorcycle for light commuters and motorcycle enthusiast alike. The 14.2 kilowatt electric drive system and Hi-Power Lithium batteries allow this light weight electric motorcycle to briskly accelerate to freeway speeds."

http://www.electricmotorsport.com/store/ems_electric_motorcycle_gpr-s.php





Fully loaded, with optional speed charger, windshield kit, and touring cargo cases: $9155.00

[elocs]

11. That's a nice looking vehicle, too. Trouble is that although you are in CA, I am in WI.

We're lucky here to have 5 months of riding anything on 2 wheels. The 2 wheels I ride on are this:

Only mine is all black. It's an Easyracer EZ Sport and it is very, very comfortable to ride. There is nowhere I need to ride in my city that is more than 6 miles and the city is very bike friendly with many trails.

This is what I normally drive:
http://image.automotive.com/f/miscellaneous/2006-scion-xa-release-series-30-well-equipped-for-october/1002460+w495+cr1+re0+ar1/2006-scion-xa-release-series-30-left-sidejpg.jpg



A 2006 Scion xA that gets 32/38 mpg. Although it looks smaller than the bike, it really isn't. :lol

[Greyskye]

12. How are recumbents on hills?

It's all up and down where I live. That seat sure looks comfy!

[elocs]

13. Not too good on hills--you can't stand up, but going downhill they are faster than wedgies.

(In the recumbent world we call them "bent" and "wedgies" for regular bikes. Going uphill you just gear down and spin the crank, pushing against the seat. Fortunately here in La Crosse there are no hills to speak of. I do enjoy riding the bike because it is so comfortable, you don't get the nerve compression in your hands, and everything to see is right out in front of you (no crooked neck watching where you are going). I love having people call out to me on a regular basis, "Cool bike!" Mine is a long wheel base recumbent which rides more upright and is very easy to ride (some bents have the pedal crank up high and in front of the front wheel which is difficult to adapt to). Lance Armstrong had said that if it had been legal to ride a recumbent that he would have done it. The world speed record for human powered vehicles has always been a recumbent.

[carlyhippy]

14. I like the car, it kinda looks like a Mini Cooper

good gas mileage too!
Carly

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. In 1909 a Model-T cost $850

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_T#Price

...

Price

The standard four-seat open tourer of 1909 cost US$850 when competing cars often cost $2000-$3000; in 1913, the price dropped to $550, and $440 in 1915. Sales were 69,762 in 1911, 170,211 in 1912, 202,667 in 1913, 308,162 in 1914, and 501,462 in 1915. In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months' pay.

...

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

...

What cost $850 in 1909 would cost $19386.92 in 2007.

...

[tinrobot]

5. Yes, it's expensive, but I like the trend....

In two years, they got the price down from $100,000 to $60,000 and still kept a 200+ mile range.

At that rate, they'll have something that's mass-market affordable within 5 years.

[carlyhippy]

8. that would be wonderful, my Xterra will just be paid off by then

Carly

[NNadir]

15. Wow. Only 200 times the per capita income of Afghanistan!

This is great!

I feel wonderful.

Here I was worrying that we would have to kill 6.5 billion people to keep our car culture going.

I am so relieved that we're down to a mere 6 billion.

The per capita income of the planet as a whole is roughly $8,000.

I think we should subsidize these cars, since there are lots of poor people who yuck up the area around the gates at our gated communities. If they starve while we subsidize electric cars, they'll be less of a problem.

You wouldn't believe it. Some of them urinate in public on the landscaping. It's an outrage.

[Howzit]

16. Toy for rich environmentalists? nt