A really informative article (as I've come to expect from CSM) that covers not only Tesla Motors, but also has some insights about what direction the automobile industry is heading.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1027/p12s02-stct.html
Highlights:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1027/p12s02-stct.html
Highlights:
Money came from a group of investors that included billionaire PayPal founder Elon Musk as well as Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. That has helped Tesla compress time. "In order to get the Roadster on the market fairly quickly, all the choices we made were not the most cost-effective choices," says Eberhard.
The manufacturing is done in England. Some parts - windshield-wiper motors and the like - are bought from other automakers in a milder form of the sourcing done by companies like Georgia-based performance carmaker Panoz, a leader in "scavenger" engineering.
"We're developing a car for $60 million," says Mr. Harrigan. "GM would probably spend that on marketing [alone] for its new Chevy Cadaver or whatever."