Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive of the San Carlos, Calif., start-up, made the announcement as he unveiled the prototype of its new vehicle. The $57,400 Model S gets up to 160 miles on a single charge. Another version of the sleek four-door will get up to 300 miles.
Tesla currently makes the $109,000 all-electric two-seat Roadster, only about 300 of which have been delivered to date. By contrast, Tesla hopes to build 20,000 of the sedans per year by mid-2012.
Musk, who co-founded PayPal and is also CEO of Hawthorne-based rocket-ship maker SpaceX, declined to name the city that would get the plant, which could bring hundreds of jobs when production begins in the third quarter of 2011.
If all goes according to plan, the Model S will reach customers in the final months of 2011. The starting price is for a version with a battery capable of a 160-mile range and a 45-minute recharge time. It will also come with the option of a 230-mile battery or a 300-mile battery. Tesla has not yet released pricing on those.
Musk took pains to point out that the car would be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles, reducing the net price to $49,900, and that its operating cost would be low because it runs on electricity rather than gasoline.
Tesla is competing with several other companies to deliver the first mass-produced electric or plug-in electric sedan to consumers. 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.
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