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California Tesla Sedan Factory: Where?

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I wonder the San Jose announcement came today of all days to try and steal a little of the Volt's thunder, or at least ride on its press coattails...

Or perhaps this is merely coincidental.

I suppose it's possible. The only news is that they decided to go with San Jose. Doesn't look like the details are worked out and they still need some local approvals. They might have already planned to go with San Jose for a while now and were sitting on the news. Anyhow it's all fair. But given the time it will take to go through the manufacturing learning curve, I think it's going to be difficult have a car ready for delivery by 2010.
 
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But given the time it will take to go the the manufacturing learning curve, I think it's going to be difficult have a car ready for delivery by 2010.

Very much agree. It has always been a very tight time schedule for that.

But I am glad they are starting on the building of that stuff now until waiting until later (like they have with showing off the Model S design). I think the chances of the Model S actually hitting the market in 2010 is remote - but vaguely possible. I would love it if they prove me wrong.
 
Tesla Motors to set up factory and HQ in San Jose - San Francisco Business Times:

I guess in skimming the articles late last night, I didn't quite process that Tesla plans to leave San Carlos and set up the company headquarters at the San Jose plant. That of course makes a lot of sense. Wonder how fast they can design and put up a building.


20080917_102340_9.17.teslagrphc.jpg
Google Map


I think they should design a test track into this new campus. :biggrin:
 
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Tesla Motors building new headquarters and factory in San Jose - AutoblogGreen

Press Release:
Tesla to Produce All-Electric Luxury Sedan in California
Tesla to Assemble All-Electric Model S Luxury Sedan and Build Corporate Campus in Heart of Silicon Valley

Last update: 12:13 p.m. EDT Sept. 17, 2008
SAN JOSE, Calif., Sep 17, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Tesla Motors Inc. plans to build a $250 million facility to manufacture a zero-emission luxury sedan in the heart of Silicon Valley. The nation's leading all-electric car company will also relocate its corporate headquarters and research and development efforts to a consolidated campus in San Jose, Calif.

Tesla President and CEO Ze'ev Drori announced Wednesday that construction on the 89-acre site would begin in the summer of 2009. When fully operational, the facility will employ approximately 1,000 workers.

Tesla selected San Jose in part because the region already enjoys a high concentration of highly skilled engineers and support infrastructure. The factory -- expected to achieve gold certification from U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) -- will be 20 miles from the current headquarters in San Carlos, minimizing inconvenience for more than 250 employees.

"Big deals like this happen when both parties have something significant to gain," said Drori, who praised San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed's 15-year "Green Vision" job-creation initiative. "Locating Tesla's headquarters, manufacturing and R&D in San Jose will allow us to proceed with minimum disruptions and virtually no dislocations."

Model S is Tesla's zero-emission, five-passenger luxury sedan powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. It is expected to have a base price of about $60,000 and get about 240 miles per charge with exceptional performance. The first sedans will likely roll off the assembly line in late 2010.

Tesla's first production vehicle is the Roadster, a zero-emission, all-electric, two-seat sports car. On sale now in the United States and Europe, the Roadster is assembled at a Group Lotus PLC factory in Hethel, U.K. Tesla has no plans to move Roadster production.

Tesla, which has delivered about 30 Roadsters so far, announced last week it was ramping up production amid scorching demand. About 1,200 people have put down deposits to reserve a Roadster.

Tesla also announced recently a string of high-profile hires with deep industry expertise. Executive Vice President Mike Donoughe, who spent 24 years at Chrysler, is overseeing Tesla's Model S and Roadster programs. Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja was formerly controller at Ford. Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen, former director of design for Mazda North America, is designing the Model S.

"Tesla has amazing momentum right now. The excitement within the company is palpable," said Tesla Product Architect and Chairman Elon Musk. "The company has clearly taken production of all-electric vehicles to the next level, and the Model S assembly plant will dramatically accelerate our growth."

About Tesla Motors
Incorporated in 2003 in California's Silicon Valley, Tesla Motors Inc. develops and manufactures electric vehicles with exceptional design, performance and efficiency, while conforming to all US and EU safety, environmental and durability standards. The Roadster is a zero-emission, all-electric two-seater for sale now in the United States and Europe. With a 0-to-60 mph acceleration of 3.9 seconds, a 14,000 rpm redline, and the fastest top-gear acceleration of any production car tested by Car & Driver magazine last year, the Roadster is unique in providing super car performance, zero emissions and extraordinary efficiency. Please visit Tesla Motors.
 
News report (with live on the scene coverage) by our local ABC station.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6397170

The one remaining hurdle Tesla motors has to clear is an environmental review. If, for some reason, it couldn't clear that, then there is a backup site in Vacaville. But, expectations are that Tesla will be a San Jose-based company, in production by the end of 2010.

Vacaville is a nice place, but really out of the way compared to San Jose.
 
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New post from Ze'ev on the San Jose plant announcement:
Tesla Motors - think

Construction on the 89-acre site is expected to begin in the summer of 2009. When fully operational, the facility will employ approximately 1,000 workers.

The plant will produce the Model S, Tesla’s zero-emission, five-passenger luxury sedan powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. It is expected to have a base price of about $60,000 and get about 240 miles per charge with exceptional performance. The first sedans will likely roll off the assembly line in late 2010. Tesla will be able to produce at least 15,000 sedans per year – up to 30,000 if we add a shift.
 
4160 Zanker Road San Carlos

Looking at the white house with the blue steel roof as a guide it would appear that the new factory will be located at approximately 4160 Zanker Road San Carlos.
Put that into Google Maps, select street view and pan to the left and you will see the house in question.
To save time here is a link:
4160 zanker road san jose california usa - Google Maps
 
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Oh No!

Is that why there's an "S" in Model S? :biggrin:

Let's see the design, already!


I have a hunch Tesla is further along in their design than they are revealing. I think they're taking a hint from GM's playbook not to reveal too much because it leads to expectations and demands they can't quite perform. GM has learned to reveal a little bit more with the Volt's design probably from Tesla. Somewhere in there is likely a happy balance to promote a product but also not build unreasonable expectations. Just my opinion with nothing to substantiate the claim.
 
When the Roadster came out, there really was nothing else like it. Teething problems were all too public. Tesla Motors - think

But then Model S will have to sit alongside a lot of copycat products with brash claims in 2010/11, so it could be argued that Tesla should be shouting even louder. If GM are going to try to market the Volt as just an EV (and play down the Extended Range bit) is their playbook something Tesla should be following?

Anyway, I thought they were going to re-write the rulebook.

I felt that Marty Taft's knowledge and experience were somewhat wasted in the latest Engineering Blog. Apparently he bakes. There's a great story right there.

So NOT GM: Tesla Motors - hear

Good times.
 
San Carlos sad to see Tesla go.

Redwood City Daily News

... some San Carlos officials were wistful at the prospect of losing one of their city's most famed local businesses.

"I'm very glad they're staying in California," said Sheryl Pomerenk, of the San Carlos Chamber of Commerce. "But of course I wish it were San Carlos."

Council Member Matt Grocott described the move as "regrettable" but acknowledged that San Carlos doesn't have the land area to accommodate a factory.

...

"One of the big appeals of the San Jose site was that it was so large that we could make a consolidated campus and stay in Silicon Valley," said Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad. "The Bay Area is pretty densely packed - There's not a lot of places where you can get 89 acres."

The fate of the company's San Carlos offices remained less clear Wednesday.

Konrad said all R&D and corporate functions would eventually move to San Jose, assuming the deal goes through. But "it's impossible to say for certain what will remain in San Carlos," she added.

However, if the proposed San Jose development fails an upcoming environment inspection, Tesla would consider building an assembly plant in Vacaville and keeping its headquarters in San Carlos - the company's home since its 2003 launch, Konrad said.

Assistant City Manager Brian Moura speculated that the company might hold on to the San Carlos office space even if it moves most of its operations to San Jose.

"They've been expanding pretty rapidly and they keep expanding, so who knows, they may need the space here in addition to what they're doing in San Jose," Moura said.
...
 
Apparently Richmond had also been considered for the new assembly plant:
I originally thought the plant would be somewhere on the East Bay like Richmond since it's typically cheaper out there. But San Jose is definitely higher profile, since that name is synonymous with Silicon Valley and "high tech," as cheesy as that might sound to locals. The proposed plot is a great location even if you do get the occasional stink from the waste treatment plant and the shallow briny areas of the Bay.
It's actually pretty close to the NUMMI plant in Fremont (seen here). Looks like NUMMI actually has a track. Though it's a bit boring. Just a drag strip with gentle loops at the ends. Hmmm... looks like they even have a train station right there for freight.


Here's some more local TV coverage of the San Jose Tesla plant.
cbs5.com - Video Library
cbs5.com - Video Library
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=6398228
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=6397226
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1801257623&channel=1274168794
 
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