Tesla Motors unveiled the production facility in California where it will build the Tesla Model S and its future electric vehicles.
The Fremont plant was formerly a New United Motor Manufacturing (NUMMI) facility that had been opened in 1984, as a joint venture between GM and Toyota Motor Corp.
The former NUMMI factory closed in April 2010. Tesla purchased the factory in May. The Tesla Factory is the only auto assembly plant in California, and the first facility dedicated exclusively to the mass production of electric vehicles.
Tesla has been granted $465 million of loans from the U.S. government to build a new lower-cost model. The company had been negotiating with the city of Downey, near Los Angeles, to build a production facility for its new Model S.
The Model S electric sedan will have a range of 160, 230, or 300 miles on a single charge depending on which Model S Tesla battery pack option is chosen. It can go zero to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and has a top speed of 120 mph.
Tesla plans to build 10,000 of them in the first year of production, then 20,000 after that.
Tesla plans to use about a quarter of the Fremont plant and then all the factory’s unused space would provide the premier location to build a second model.
Tesla has already signed an agreement with Toyota to develop its electric drive system for the Rav4 SUV.
