Telsa to build new facility for electric cars in New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico – Electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors has announced that it will build a new automobile assembly facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The US$35 million project will result in 400 jobs; construction will begin in April 2007 at the latest.

Tesla Motors, based in San Carlos, California, will use the plant to produce its four-door, five-passenger electric WhiteStar sports sedan. The plant will be the company’s first assembly facility in the U.S. Several states, including Arizona and California, were in talks with Tesla over locating the plant. The company’s corporate headquarters will remain in California; the New Mexico jobs will be new hires and not transfers from the California location.

The first cars will roll off the assembly line in the fall of 2009, with production of at least 10,000 cars per year. The vehicles will cost US$50,000 for the standard model, or US$65,000 for a premium model with greater performance and range.

Tesla will begin production of its first vehicle, a zero-emission two-seater roadster, at a facility in England owned by Lotus Cars later this year. The privately-owned company was formed in 2003 with the goal of manufacturing electric cars with the highest standards of performance, efficiency and design.