Tesla needs government loans to produce Model S on time

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Government/Legal, Green, Earnings/Financials

Detroit isn't the only place in the U.S. where struggling automakers are looking for government handouts. Tesla Motors, Silicon Valley's one and only auto manufacturer, is looking for an initial injection from the government of $350 million, which is slated to fund the development and necessary manufacturing facilities for its upcoming Model S sedan with another $200 million to produce lithium-ion batteries plus $100 million to expand its growing drivetrain business. It's still early, but we're pretty sure that equals a cool $650 mil.

Like the $15 billion that the Detroit 3 are still hoping to get within the next few days, Tesla's $650 million would come from the $25 billion investment in green technology that Congress has already approved for American automakers. Without this infusion of capital, Tesla Motors' CEO Elon Musk claims that its battery-powered sedan, which is expected to bow sometime next year on conceptual form, will be delayed by a few years until the economy recovers and more capital investment can be raised on its own.

[Sources: Detroit Free Press, Bloomberg, Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty]

Tesla needs government loans to produce Model S on time originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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