California = Tesla + Toyota

[vfx]

Buying an old company that owns real estate is a nice way to get a low property tax basis in California thanks to Proposition 13.

Do you think Tesla will even pay taxes? Anywhere?

 

[dpeilow]

Obama to visit Fremont next week

President Obama tours Fremont's Solyndra, promotes clean energy

Obama also gave a nod to Tesla Motors of Palo Alto, which was awarded a $465 million loan by the Department of Energy.

"Tesla is joining with Toyota in a venture to put a thousand skilled workers back to work manufacturing an all-electric car," Obama said to applause. "This is only the beginning. We're investing in advanced battery technologies to power plug-in hybrid cars."

 

[vfx]

While the president focused on job creation and the clean tech economy, Solyndra used the visit to press Obama on the need to spur domestic demand for solar. The federal government could lead by example if it installed solar panels on government buildings across the country.

Very smart!

 

[vfx]

Green Car Advisor reports that Tesla Motors has updated its regulatory filing to include information about the Toyota-NUMMI deal. The filing had to be updated for Tesla's initial public offering, which is expected by the end of the year. It's from this regulatory filing that we learned that the $42 million investment by Tesla will only go towards purchasing the NUMMI facility and does not include some 200 acres of land adjacent to the site, nor does it include the equipment found within the plant. Without all of that equipment, the price that Tesla paid for NUMMI is not quite the bargain we once thought it was.

http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencarad...tment-and-purchase-of-former-nummi-plant.html

 

[Albern]

Tesla Motors announced last week that it was definitely going to build ist Model S at the former NUMMI factory in Fremont, California. Or it might not. This isn't the first announcement about where this car might be produced. That was way back in February 2007 when the car was still being referred to as Whitestar and it was planned to be built in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Along the way it was also going to be built in San Jose and most recently southern California.

The big surprise press conference held last week with CEO Elon Musk, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda caught everyone completely by surprise and apparently almost none of the i's have been dotted, nor have many t's been crossed. At the time, Musk announced that Tesla would be buying one of three parcels that make up the NUMMI facility, that being the one that includes the actual building facility. Regulatory documents filed by Tesla this week in advance of its upcoming initial public stock offering indicate that Tesla is to pay Toyota $42 million for the building out of its IPO proceeds. That price, however, does not include production equipment, which may go a long ways toward explaining why Tesla got such a "good deal" compared to the $130 million that Fisker paid for a closed General Motors plant in Delaware.

If Tesla wants any of the equipment left behind at the NUMMI facility, it will have to buy that separately at an upcoming auction. Of course, it won't actually need most of it for some time since the company only plans to build about 20,000 cars per year in a plant with a capacity 25 times that.

The product collaboration agreement between Toyota and Tesla is also just that so far, an agreement to collaborate with no additional details specified right now. And that $50 million that Toyota is to invest in Tesla? That will only happen if the IPO actually happens in 2010 and it will be at the offering price. So Toyota's investment may garner it either more or less stock than the nine percent that Daimler got last year for the same price.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/01/full-details-on-tesla-nummi-deal-disclosed/

 

[PopSmith]

It's from this regulatory filing that we learned that the $42 million investment by Tesla will only go towards purchasing the NUMMI facility and does not include some 200 acres of land adjacent to the site, nor does it include the equipment found within the plant. Without all of that equipment, the price that Tesla paid for NUMMI is not quite the bargain we once thought it was.

Does that mean Tesla essentially paid $42 million for a gigantic-but-mainly-empty building?

I know they are/were trying to find a place to produce the Model S, as well as BlueStar and other future vehicles, but it seems kind of funny to spend that much on an equipment-free building, even one as large as NUMMI.

EDIT: I was just doing a bit of reading of the S-1 filing and it says:

We anticipate that this purchase will close within a few months following the completion of this offering. We intend to use this facility for the production of our planned Model S and future vehicles. We are in an early stage of planning for this facility.

Basically, if I understand the filing correctly, Tesla won't acquire NUMMI until after it's IPO. While thats not a bad thing, it just means that the purchase of NUMMI could come as long as six-and-a-half months from now. This would help make some sense of Musk's "Mid-2012" remark about the start of Model S production.

 

[TEG]

Tesla Reveals Loose Arrangement With Toyota for New Electric Car

 

[Norbert]

Tesla Reveals Loose Arrangement With Toyota for New Electric Car

The specifics of the deal seem to increase the chances Tesla will be going public in 2010.

 

[EVNow]

Above NYT news interpretation by ABG ...

ABG:Tesla is not developing an electric car with Toyota, "and we may never do so"

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/06/09/tesla-is-not-developing-an-electric-car-with-toyota-and-we-may/

 

[Doug_G]

They HAVE to write their filing that way. Read any filing of any company and they'll paint the bleakest possible scenario.

 

[edo]

They HAVE to write their filing that way. Read any filing of any company and they'll paint the bleakest possible scenario.

Toyota doesn't have that problem (granted, they have others right now) and they aren't saying much either.

 

[doug]

Toyota, Tesla to develop prototype EV by year-end -- Kyodo News

TOKYO, June 11 KYODO
Toyota Motor Corp. will develop the prototype of an electric vehicle in cooperation with Tesla Motors Inc. of the United States by the year-end, Toyota sources said Friday.

 

[edo]

Toyota, Tesla to develop prototype EV by year-end -- Kyodo News

I guess they heard me:tongue:

 

[Alfred]

Tesla & Toyota

Interesting note here (in German). They consider that Toyota could well be shifting strategy towards all electric traction. Bearing in mind though the size of Toyota, what we are seeing here is not all that dramatic and of more relevance for tiny Tesla with a foot in the door of excellence in manufacturing.