SAN CARLOS, California — Before the economic meltdown, Tesla Motors had ambitious plans to build an electric-car factory in Silicon Valley. But it has shifted gears, saying now that it will find an abandoned factory to help it win a low-cost federal loan.
The $450 million that Tesla hopes to get from government loan programs means it would go in the direction of "retrofitting existing buildings rather than constructing new ones," according to a report in the local San Jose Mercury News.
Tesla is in competition with other automakers for low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Energy. That federal agency has funds available to develop so-called "brownfield" sites — factories that are no longer in use.
The AFP news service reported on Friday that Tesla is in "late stage" negotiations with another site for its Model S plant and expects to begin production in 2011 as originally planned.
The Model S is a five-passenger sedan run by a lithium-ion battery pack. The Model S is expected to be priced around $60,000.
Source : www.edmunds.com (2/2/2009)
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