Whitestar body designed by Fisker? Tesla shifts battery production to US.

[stopcrazypp]

Two bits of news I saw on Autoblog and Autobloggreen posted by Sam Abuelsamid:

First one is an unconfirmed rumor: "According to Street Import Online, Tesla had backed out of a deal to have Fisker create the body for the WhiteStar electric sedan but kept the design. "
"Update: Our own sources indicate that Tesla is not using the Fisker design for the final car. Other than having four doors and a similar number of wheels, the Whitestar is completely different from the Fisker proposal."

Sounds like Fisker originally penned a body design for the Whitestar, but Tesla didn't take the proposal and instead went with a different design, but I'm not sure this is confirmed yet.

Links:
Rumormill: Fisker designed Tesla's upcoming Whitestar sedan - Autoblog
Tesla Motor's Whitestar body originally designed by Fisker*-*Street Import Online - Automotive News, Sports & Show Coverage

EDIT:
Seems like TEG posted a thread on the battery issue already a while ago, Autobloggreen provides some clarification that siry mentioned on that thread also a while ago. Sorry for not noticing that.
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/news-articles-events/1077-exporting-including-tesla-battery-news.html

Additional reporting from Autobloggreen on the battery:
"Tesla has decided to shift production of their battery packs from a factory in Thailand to their home base in San Carlos California. According to Tesla VP Darryl Siry, the exchange rate wasn't the primary reason for the change. The logistics of shipping 1,000lb battery packs halfway around the world were the primary concern. ... The 6,831 lithium ion cells in each pack are sourced from suppliers in Taiwan and will now be shipped directly to the U.S. where the packs are being assembled. ... As production ramps up, they will likely move that process to a larger facility."

Links:
Tesla shifts battery pack assembly from Thailand to the U.S. - AutoblogGreen
Detroit Sets Bold Goal: Exporting U.S. Cars - WSJ.com

 

[Cobos]

I always thought that the Fisker Karma was the basic idea for the Whitestar and Tesla didn't like it and Fisker then released it with a different partner? There might of course be some serious changes made before or after Quantum came into the picture. This might also be my memory acting funny again, I've heard that comes with age

Cobos

 

[Tesla2Go]

and a similar number of wheels

I sure hope the Whitestar will have a 'similar number of wheels' :biggrin:

 

[tonybelding]

This rumor actually supports my speculation from a while back. . . That Fisker did a body design for Tesla -- then after Tesla rejected it, Fisker adapted it into their own Karma. Aside from the hideous front grille, the Karma looks to me like a big brother of the Roadster.

What about that grille? When the car was first shown, a lot of people complained about it. A Fisker rep was quoted as saying the grille was easy to change and soon would be changed. . . I haven't seen that happen yet.