Posted on February 12, 2009 at 3:45 PM
Filed under: Corporate Strategy | Joint Ventures and Alliances | People
Tagged: Daimler , Elon Musk , Lithium-ion battery , Model S , Roadster , Tesla Motors

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Tesla Motors Inc. CEO Elon Musk is a determined and optimistic man, even though his Silicon Valley firm is losing money. The electric car maker's fourth chief has been held up by production delays but expects profitability by mid-year. Much of his hope rests on a $350 million check from the Department of Energy which Tesla may (or may not) get in four to five months.

Bits blog noted even if the money comes through, Tesla does not have a place to build its Model S (a street-drivable luxury sedan for around $60,000) plant. Though it announced in September that it would build the plant in San Jose, Calif., Tesla is now negotiating with other cities.

As Tesla had trouble getting its own electric sedan out the door, it looked to make some money by selling its tech. Tesla said it would build lithium-ion battery packs and chargers for an all-electric version of Daimler AG's Smart car. In a long statement mapping out the firm's strategy, Musk wrote that the deal is likely to be the first in a series of strategic partnerships between Tesla and other auto manufacturers to engineer and produce electric cars. - Baz Hiralal

See Elon Musk's letter
Go to Bits post
See previous Q&A with Musk from our tech blog


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