Tesla to produce all-electric luxury sedan in California

Tesla to assemble all-electric Model S luxury sedan and build corporate campus in heart of Silicon Valley

SAN JOSE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)— 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 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.”

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.”

Tesla Motors Selects BorgWarner for Production of New Gearbox for Tesla Roadster

Deliveries of 27 Roadsters Completed to Date, Production and Delivery of Roadsters To Accelerate With Final Powertrain Solution

San Carlos, CA – Tesla Motors Inc. has selected BorgWarner Inc. for the production of a single-speed gearbox for the Tesla Roadster and is initiating a ramped-up production rate. So far, 27 customers have taken delivery of Roadsters.

Tesla engineers developed the specifications for the new gearbox and provided them to BorgWarner. The new gearbox is an integral part of an enhanced powertrain with significant performance and efficiency improvements. The new powertrain delivers about 30% higher motor torque on a single gear ratio, and it achieves a 10% higher EPA combined range.

“Last December, when the two-speed transmission designed by a previous supplier proved not to be durable, we announced we would modify our approach,” said JB Straubel, Chief Technology Officer of Tesla Motors. “By using a more powerful inverter and an enhanced motor design, we were able to implement a single-speed gearbox and still achieve our original performance goals. In fact, the new setup is superior in almost every way.”

The new gearbox is designed for the higher peak torque levels of the new Roadster powertrain, which has increased from 286 Newton-meters (211 foot-pounds) to 380 Newton-meters (280 foot-pounds). The new powertrain achieves an EPA combined range of 244 miles on a single charge, up from Tesla’s previously announced EPA range of 221 miles.

Production of Tesla Roadsters began in March, and the first vehicles were built with an interim transmission design. Customers who own Roadsters with the interim transmission can have their powertrain upgraded free of charge.

Tesla Motors starts production of 10 new Roadsters each week. Customers typically take delivery four to six weeks after production begins. The company expects production to ramp up to at least 20 vehicles per week within a few months and 40 per week by early 2009.

“Successfully implementing the new gearbox in less than a year was an incredible technical challenge and huge accomplishment for Tesla’s engineers,” said Ze’ev Drori, Chief Executive Officer of Tesla Motors. “Now that we have a final powertrain design, in a matter of months there will be hundreds of Tesla Roadsters across the country. We’re heralding nothing less than a new era of the automobile.”

[NextAutos]

Jalopnik Snap Judgment: According to Autocar, we should expect to see the Model S sedan in 2010, with the SUV and a four-door coupe arriving around 2015. The word from Tesla is less encouraging, however: The company is hoping to launch the sedan after construction of its new California factory is completed, and they describe the design as “ninety percent” complete. Knowing that the "devil is in the details" — details being at least the last 10% of the design process — and that starting up a factory isn't without its hiccups, we're afraid the Model S may take a little longer to get to market, and any other variants even longer. Of course, with its recent new hires, Tesla could surprise us all. But, although we're hopeful, we've also seen Tesla miss past time deadlines — and continue to miss current deadlines. [Autocar.uk]