Tesla to Extend Production of Current-Generation Roadster by 40% and Into 2012
By Scott Doggett March 15, 2010
Reports of the demise of the current-generation Tesla Roadster next year were premature.
As you'll recall, the Silicon Valley automaker said last month on page 19 of a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that "we do not plan to sell our current generation Tesla Roadster after 2011 due to planned tooling changes at a supplier for the Tesla Roadster."
The company said intended to resume production of the all-electric, zero-emissions model with an updated, upgraded second-generation Roadster in 2013.
The company said that it would cease production of the first-generation Roadster next year because Lotus Cars, which makes the Elise chassis and body on which the sporty plug-in Tesla is based, is retooling and will shut down that line.
That would leave Tesla without revenue from car sales until its next planned model, the $57,400, five-seat Tesla S electric sedan, comes on line - an event originally planned for 2011 but now slated for sometime in 2012, if all goes well.
But in a newsletter Tesla distributed last week, the automaker said:
"Responding to customer demand, Tesla has negotiated agreements with key suppliers that will increase total Roadster production by 40 percent and extend sales into 2012."
Excellent.
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