Tesla unveils plug-in sedan with 300-mile range
— -- As futuristic electric cars go, the claims don't get much bigger than this.
Tesla, which makes a $109,000 plug-in electric roadster, unveiled its next model Thursday — a full-size, luxury sedan that runs at least 160 miles per full charge and has a base price of $49,900 (after a $7,500 federal rebate).
The Model S would have a choice of three battery packs, with the most deluxe affording a 300-mile range. They can be recharged from a standard household outlet but would juice up faster at 220- or 480-volt outlets.
Tesla, based in San Carlos, Calif., says the sedan could go into production in late 2011.
The company faces big challenges to make that happen, however. It says it will need the $350 million it believes it's on tap to receive from the federal government, plus likely more private investment, to be able to equip a factory to make the cars.
Also, by the time Model S is silently prowling the streets, it could face lower-priced competitors from General Motors, Nissan and others.
"This is a lot of hype about a very early prototype that has a lot of 'ifs,' " says John O'Dell, editor of Edmunds' Green Car Advisor, a website. But O'Dell said after the unveiling that Tesla defied naysayers in delivering the roadster and could do it again.
Tesla's roadster is made in England at a Lotus plant. Though heavily modified, it's based on the Lotus Elise sports car. The Model S, by contrast, is a new four-door hatchback design that Tesla says would be made in Southern California.
The prototype was unveiled at Tesla CEO Elon Musk's rocket factory in Hawthorne, Calif., just outside Los Angeles. Musk is a co-founder of PayPal and is betting his fortune on ventures such as commercial space launches and Tesla.
By tucking the car's electric components and battery mostly under the floor, the Model S was designed with lots of space for people and cargo. Not only does it have a roomy trunk, but there is plenty of storage space under the hood where the engine would normally be.
