Tesla Motors Unveils All-Electric Sedan Prototype

No gas. No joke.

After much anticipation, Tesla Motors, announced that it will soon begin production on an all-electric sedan. The prototype was put on display today. Tesla already makes an all-electric Roadster.

Now it just needs a factory.

Golden opportunity

Tesla has decided it will build its new factory in Southern California. Residents and leaders in the Golden State hope it will help the state’s economy. California this year had to write a budget that compensated for a $42 billion shortfall.

Isn’t the auto industry in decline?

While car factories are on the verge of shutting down in Michigan, governors in the West have been wooing Tesla to try to get the company to build its factory in their states. Before Tesla settled on California, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson promised the company tax credits and other incentives and gave a commitment to buy 100 vehicles.

Loan shopping

Seems if you have  the right product, perhaps you can rise above the flailing economy. No governors have offered Tesla cash advance loans yet, but the company has applied for $400 million in government loans, which it says it needs to get the plant off the ground and the Model S fully developed.

OK, I’ll tell you about the car!

There are two versions of Tesla’s all-electric sedan, called the Model S. A $57,000 version gets about 160 miles between charges. The company says another version will get about 300. The Roadster is priced at $109,000, and I am betting the 300-mile version of the sedan will be closer to that price.

Tesla hopes to be building 20,000 Model S sedans per year by mid-2012.

Sparking competition

A few companies are competing with Tesla for the title of  “first automaker to mass-produce an electric or hybrid plug-in sedan.”

GM plans to begin selling its plug-in hybrid Volt in late 2010, and Fisker Automotive Inc. of Irvine said it would hand over the keys to its $87,900 Karma sedan, to be built in Finland, early next year, according to the L.A. Times.