Tesla Toyota Partnership

Toyota Ponies Up $50 Million For A Piece Of Tesla Motors

Written by Brian Hicks
Posted May 21, 2010

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) has just announced that it's ponying up $50 million to get a piece of Tesla Motors – the electric car manufacturer responsible for the game-changing, all-electric Tesla Roadster.

With Toyota on board, Tesla is going to make it's latest electric sedan – the Model S – at a recently shuttered auto plant in Fremont, CA. Until last month, this plant was used to build Corollas and Tacomas.

Toyota reps said they hoped the combination of the company's expertise in innovation and Tesla's entrepreneurial skills would help Toyota's efforts in making alternative-energy vehicles.

This particular manufacturing deal is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs. That's right – 1,000 more jobs thanks to clean energy development!

Of course, the state of California has been very aggressive in its attempts to bring clean energy jobs to the Golden State. This is why Coda Automotive will be assembling its electric sedan in either Oxnard or Los Angeles next year, and Fisker Automotive will be moving its engineering and sales center to Irvine later this year. Even Chinese electric car manufacturer, BYD (BYDDF.PK) is setting up its U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles.

Tesla Motors is expected to go public later this year.

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