No Deal Yet For Tesla 'Model S' EV Manufacturing Plant, Company Says
By John O'Dell December 30, 2009
Although the mayor of the Southern California city of Downey announced last month that his city was Tesla Motors' pick for a new plant for construction of the Tesla Model S electric sedan (right), there's no deal as the year ends.
In a brief telephone interview late Tuesday, Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes said that negotiating for an automotive plant site "is a long, complex" process. "I wish I could make an announcement, but there's nothing yet."
Reyes, Tesla's vice president for communications, wouldn't confirm that Downey is the location of choice for the Model S plant or say whether other cities are still negotiating.
In November, Downey Mayor Mario Guerra said that the deal with Tesla was "99.9 percent" done.
Tesla had said it plans to launch sales of the $57,500 Model S sometime in 2011, a schedule that leaves little spare time - equipping a plant from the ground up for automotive assembly isn't something that can be done overnight.
Reyes declined to discuss the company's timetable, saying only that talks are ongoing.
The company was approved earlier this year for $465 million in federal loans - most of the funds to be used to develop a plant for production of the Model S. One condition is that the company must refurbish an existing facility for the new factory. Downey officials said Tesla is negotiating for use of an 80-acre site that once was part of the Boeing and NASA facility where Space Shuttles were made and now houses the independent Downey Studios filmmakng facilities.
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