“Decades ago,” Toyoda said, “Toyota was also born as a venture business. By partnering with Tesla, my hope is that all Toyota employees will recall that venture business spirit, and take on the challenges of the future.”<\/p>\n
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said his company would spend “a couple of hundred million dollars” preparing NUMMI for the project.<\/p>\n
NUMMI, a former joint venture between Toyota and General Motors, closed earlier this year amid a storm of criticism from the plant’s UAW work force.<\/p>\n
Musk said the negotiations to acquire the closed plant concluded yesterday.<\/p>\n
He said that Tesla’s next model, a Model S that will debut in 2012, will only account for about 20,000 units a year, but said other models will follow off of the Model S platform.<\/p>\n
“We’re going to be occupying a little corner,” Musk said.<\/p>\n
He said that eventually the project would account for 10,000 jobs, including supplier jobs.<\/p>\n
Tesla’s Model S is being made possible thanks to a $465 million low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. Until that product appears, Tesla is marketing a two-seat electric sports car that retails for more than $100,000.<\/p>\n
Tesla has said that the Model S will sell for closer to $40,000.<\/p>\n
Until now, Toyota has expressed little interest in electric cars. The Japanese automaker has staked considerable research and marketing investment on its popular hybrid-drive vehicles, including the Prius and hybrid Camry.<\/p>\n
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