Tesla + Toyota

Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tesla has breathed new life into the recently shut down NUMMI plant in Fremont, announcing its plans last week to team up with Toyota to start making its $50,000 electric Model S at the NUMMI plant.
That means they will be hiring 1,000 workers, and possibly creating 10 times that number of jobs down the road. Resurrection of NUMMI auto plant by Tesla and Toyota lifts spirits all over Fremont From the article: After being sucker-punched first by the recession and then by the closure earlier this year of the NUMMI plant with its nearly 5,000 auto-worker jobs, the Bay Area's fourth-largest city is suddenly coming to — buoyed by last week's news that electric-car maker Tesla will jump-start NUMMI.
Here is the full text of the entire article, in case the link goes bad: http://www.mercurynews.com/san-jose-neighborhoods/ci_15142897?nclick_check=1 

Resurrection of NUMMI auto plant by Tesla and Toyota lifts spirits all over Fremont 
By Patrick May pmay@mercurynews.com 
Posted: 05/22/2010 05:17:54 PM PDT Updated: 05/23/2010 09:47:10 AM PDT 

Fremont's back on its feet. Or at least up on one knee. After being sucker-punched first by the recession and then by the closure earlier this year of the NUMMI plant with its nearly 5,000 auto-worker jobs, the Bay Area's fourth-largest city is suddenly coming to — buoyed by last week's news that electric-car maker Tesla will jump-start NUMMI. "This is like Christmas in May," said Saki Kavouniaris, whose steakhouse and cocktail lounge on Warm Springs Boulevard had seen business slump 30 percent since the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant shut down April 1. 

"When the dot-com died, we lost a lot of manufacturers and Fremont's had a lot of ups and downs ever since. I was starting to think this place must be jinxed. But the future looks a lot brighter now than it did two months ago." Tesla's announcement Thursday that it was teaming up with Toyota to start making its $50,000 electric Model S at NUMMI, hiring 1,000 workers and possibly creating 10 times that number of jobs down the road, has brought hope back to Fremont, a 92-square-mile piece of Silicon Valley that had seemed shrouded of late with gloom. "In a great big hurry, our fortunes have changed," said Bob Wasserman, now in his second term as Fremont's mayor and his first week as its green-tech cheerleader. 

"We're thrilled to see something good happening with that property. It'll employ a lot of the folks who just lost their jobs, but it'll also be a catalyst to bring Advertisement other businesses to the area." "This is a great day for Fremont, the beginning of a new industry and a new chapter in our history," said the mayor. "Now we can become the electric-car capital of the United States." 

Hub of green tech 
Having survived some hard times, Fremont suddenly seems to be on a roll again. Despite an 8.4 percent unemployment rate, empty business parks, half-deserted shopping malls and a $1.8 million budget gap, folks in this area of Alameda County — "Where Main Street Meets the World!" — are starting to ask themselves: With Tesla coming to town, joining burgeoning solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra and other alternative-energy firms, could Fremont become a cleantech incubator, just as South San Francisco has adopted the mantle of the "Birthplace of Biotechnology"? Nina Moore, with the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, thinks so. 

"Clearly it's a goal of ours to be a hub of clean- and green-tech, and Tesla and Solyndra are two big players in that arena." And as if on cue, the White House announced last week that President Barack Obama on Wednesday will visit Solyndra. The company received a $535 million federal loan guarantee for construction of a manufacturing plant, a massive structure now rising beside Interstate 880. That project, according to the White House, employs more than 1,000 workers, making it one of the most successful stimulus investments in terms of spurring job creation. There's more. By 2014, BART's Warm Springs extension is scheduled to bring mass transit into the heart of the city, close to NUMMI and a nearby section of town that Moore said has been designated as a "priority development area." 

And even with the Tesla-Toyota announcement, Councilwoman Anu Natarajan said Saturday that the city will continue to use its $333,000 federal grant to study other potential uses for NUMMI and the adjacent land. "I think Fremont's turning a corner from being an auto-oriented suburban community to the center of everything green," said Natarajan, who's also an urban planner. "With the new BART station and Solyndra and the electric-car plant, we're becoming a cluster of green tech. And the president's visit this week shows that we're on their radar." Some doubts left There's even lingering hope among some residents that the Oakland A's will still move to Fremont, where owner Lew Wolff had once hoped to finance a stadium by surrounding it with a "ballpark village" of housing units. On Friday, though, Wolff reiterated that the city wasn't viable for the project, saying the housing meltdown had killed that plan. 

"We need to be in an established downtown," said Wolff, who's still targeting a move to downtown San Jose if Major League Baseball gives the green light. Fremont, meanwhile, continues to work with baseball officials. And even with the promise by Tesla and its green counterparts to hire thousands of workers in the next few years, many Fremont residents interviewed Saturday said they didn't think their city would be shaking off its recessionary chains any time soon. 

"Tesla's reopening NUMMI is great news, but NUMMI can't save everyone," said Evangeline Carreon, whose Warm Springs flower-and-gift shop sits in a lonely strip mall that has seen one business after another go under. "I worry what kind of world my two kids in college will face when they get out." Then again, said Judy Miller of Fremont's Cheese Taster Delicatessen, "NUMMI reopening will give us all a shot in the arm. Besides, with business last year so horrendous, if we could make it through 2009, we can make it through anything." Contact Patrick May at 408-920-5689.
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Tesla To Offer Auto Leases

Saturday, February 27, 2010
 Tesla is hoping its new leasing strategy will help usher in a new round of early adopters into the mainstream. Read more in the article: Tesla to Offer Auto Leases
'Starting Wednesday, the 2010 Roadster, which competes against exotic sport cars like the Porsche 911, will be available on a three-year, 30,000-mile lease based on the manufacturer's price of $111,005, Tesla said. A lease requires an up front $12,453 payment, which includes a $1,658 first monthly payment, a $9,900 down payment and an $895 acquisition fee, the company said. In the past, the Roadsters were only available for an outright purchase. "This will help us with the customers who have some trepidation about changing the paradigm from gasoline to electric," said Elon Musk, Tesla's chairman and chief executive. "They can dip their toe in the water without making a big commitment of a purchase."'
Here's the full text of the article, in case the link goes bad: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703510204575086100797059906.html?mod=googlenews_wsj 

Tesla To Offer Auto Leases Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. said Wednesday that it will offer a lease option on its flagship Roadster and Roadster sport models, in a move intended to help ease the pricey vehicle into the mainstream. Starting Wednesday, the 2010 Roadster, which competes against exotic sport cars like the Porsche 911, will be available on a three-year, 30,000-mile lease based on the manufacturer's price of $111,005, Tesla said. A lease requires an up front $12,453 payment, which includes a $1,658 first monthly payment, a $9,900 down payment and an $895 acquisition fee, company said. In the past, the Roadsters were only available for an outright purchase. 

"This will help us with the customers who have some trepidation about changing the paradigm from gasoline to electric," said Elon Musk, Tesla's chairman and chief executive. "They can dip their toe in the water without making a big commitment of a purchase." The move comes as Tesla, the only auto manufacturer currently selling an all-electric car across the U.S., pushes to jump start sales and build awareness for the Tesla brand and demystify electric cars for mainstream consumers. Tesla said in a recent securities filing that it is planning an initial public offering. But one analyst said the high price of the Roadster's lease may not add dramatically to Tesla's sales. 

"I suspect it will provide somewhat of a boost," said Mike Omotoso, senior manager of power train forecasting for J.D. Power. "But because it requires a large down payment and a large monthly payment bigger than a lot of people's mortgages, the lease option will probably only be attractive to a small amount of people." Mr. Musk said the Roadster is priced comparably to other low-production, hand built sports cars, minus the savings on operating costs. 

"For people who are in the sports car market, it's the same lease cost as the sports car that they're using with a comparable sticker price, but the operating cost is about 10% less because of the savings from electricity versus gasoline," he said. The Roadster is charged not with gas but with a 240-volt house plug which powers a battery pack in the trunk. Tesla estimates the cost savings compared to a similar gas power car is $85 per month, based on Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy tests and an estimate 833 miles driven a month. The Roadster, which produces zero tailpipe emissions, doesn't need regular oil changes or exhaust system repairs. 

There are about 900 Roadsters on the road now. The company is marketing it's latest model, the Tesla Roadster Sport, which starts at about $130,000 and is slightly faster than the base model, accelerating from zero to 60 miles an hour in 3.7 seconds. J.D. Power expects Tesla to sell about 1,000 vehicles this year, up from about 800 in 2009. Tesla hopes to see a sales surge in 2011 when it rolls out the Tesla Model S, a sedan that costs $50,000 after rebates, which will also include a leasing option. Several additional electric cars and plug-in hybrids will be released by other manufacturers before 2011. 

They include the Nissan Leaf, which has a 100-mile driving range and hits the market in December; it will be priced at between $25,000 and $30,000, Mr. Omotoso projects. General Motors Co.'s Chevy Volt, an extended range electric vehicle, will launch by December and will likely cost about $32,500 after a federal tax rebate, he said. Write to Lee Hawkins at lee.hawkins@wsj.com

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Tesla Announces IPO

Thursday, February 04, 2010
According to their SEC filing, California electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. plans sell up to $100 million in an initial public offering. Read more in the LA Times story: Tesla Motors plans $100-million IPO From the article:
"California electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. plans sell up to $100 million in an initial public offering, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The move brings the innovative car company, which has long enticed car enthusiasts, one step closer to becoming a household name. The price of shares or the timing of their availability is still unclear, but industry observers expect the much-anticipated offering to be well-received by investors."
Here's the full text of the entire article, in case the link goes bad: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tesla1-2010feb01,0,6307372.story 

California electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. plans to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The move brings the innovative car company, which has long enticed car enthusiasts, one step closer to becoming a household name.


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The price of shares or the timing of their availability is still unclear, but industry observers expect the much-anticipated offering to be well-received by investors.

David Menlow, president of IPOfinancial.com, said that selling stock to the public would bring the company closer to becoming independently profitable.

"This could propel them into a more prominent position in the auto industry," Menlow said. "The question is how they're going to be able to rein in their costs."

The San Carlos, Calif., firm's IPO would be a first among electric car companies, which have shown life in recent years in response to high oil prices.

Tesla currently sells its signature all-electric Roadster sports car for $109,000 -- a price that's slimmed some after federal tax credits.

Last year, Tesla unveiled the prototype for a more affordable sedan: the Model S, priced at under $60,000.

The all-electric vehicle gets 160 to 300 miles on a single charge.

The car company's high costs have been buffered by government cash, with Tesla recently winning approval for a $465-million loan from the federal government.

Menlow said he expected high investor interest but said many would take a wait-and-see approach to how viable an investment in the car company would be.

"Making the jump from a concept to an IPO to a financially sound investment, there are many mountains to climb," he said.

"As we continue to get more information, it's not going to be the sex appeal of the technology anymore, it's going to be 'Are they going to be able to survive?' "
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