[Travis McGee]

Tesla Motors, copied from another reprised thread from 2009

Tesla gets long-awaited government loan
San Francisco Business Times ^ | June 23, 2009 | Lindsay Riddell

Posted on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 11:08:22 PM by artichokegrower

Tesla Motors, makers of the first electric car that can travel more than 200 miles between charges, got its $465 million loan guarantee from the government Tuesday. Tesla has been banking on the guarantee for more than two years. The guarantee essentially insures the San Carlos-based company can borrow the money from financial partners to build a factory to produce for Tesla’s next-generation sedan, the Model S. The sedan will sell for around $45,000, that’s with a $7,500 tax credit from the government, and is about half the price of its first production vehicle, the high-end Tesla Roadster.

Tesla had struggled to raise money this year as banks essentially stopped lending amid the credit crisis and recession. Tesla Chairman Elon Musk essentially bankrolled the company with his own money through the beginning of the year. Tesla then signed a deal with Daimler AG, which took a 10 percent stake in the company in May. The Department of Energy had indicated that strategic partnerships with credit-worthy companies would be a major advantage as it evaluated to which companies it would award loan guarantees.

[meadsjn]

With just one deal like that, what could a redneck NOT do?

[11th Commandment]

Telsa concept is pretty cool. They are doing good stuff and from a cool geek perspective, it is exciting. But the business on the ground business model has problems. At $45K, this car is competing with luxury brands. Luxury cars fit a niche in the market, but the reality is the top selling 20 car models in the US are all affordable cars. The Luxury market is pretty crowded and especially the cross over brand Telsa is entering into. I wish them luck, but I would not invest in them.... oh wait I did... the US government guaranteed loan...