Tesla, Toyota Partner To Build Electric Cars

Tesla will announce a deal with Toyota to build electric cars at a press conference later this afternoon. Although it's not yet clear what the specifics of the deal will entail, we can speculate all sorts of fun things. UPDATE

1.) It may include the NUMMI factory, jointly operated by Toyota and General Motors, that once employed 4,700 workers in the San Francisco Bay area.

2.) It may be to build the Model S and sell a rebadged version as a Toyota.

3.) It may be to build an electric Prius to sell as a rebadged Tesla.

4.) It may build Iron Man suits in a vain attempt by Elon Musk to get a cameo in Iron Man 3: Bigger, Longer And More Uncut Facial Hair.

Update: According to VentureBeat we weren't far off in our original speculation. According to their sources, Tesla will build a new high-volume car based on a Toyota platform to slot in at around $30,000 and compete with the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf. Additionally, Toyota will take a $50 million share in Tesla and allow the company to buy the shuttered NUMMI plant to build the Model S and the new, unreleased model.

[SFGate]