With everyone hopping on the government bailout train, you can’t critizie Tesla for at least trying, right? Well, remember that post talking about how the Tesla Model S wouldn’t be able to go into production unless it was given a government load of some ridiculous amount of money?
Yeah, now they are saying they can’t even have a pre-production model ready in time without that loan. Sounds crazy, right? While many had hoped we’d get a glimpse of the beauty sometime this year, it’s recently been confirmed that we won’t.
Oh well, let’s just hope Tesla still exists in the spring of next year when we are supposed to see the Model S for real.
Tags: Model S, Tesla
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Tesla Motors is not asking for a bailout.
In 2007, congress enacted the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Incentive Program, a low interest loan program to encourage the development of more energy efficient vehicles.
Tesla Motors has applied for two loans under this program, one to increase their capacity to produce electric drivetrain components to other automakers and the other to develop and build production facilities in California for their Model S sedan.
Recently, it was revealed that the drivetrains they are supplying to another automaker are for an electric vehicle that will sell for “comfortably below $30,000.”
That’s exactly what the ATVM was intended to encourage. It’s the Detroit 3 that have perverted this progressive loan program into a bailout program because president Bush won’t allow them access to any of the $700 billion allocated to bailing out the financial industry.