Darryl Siry, Tesla’s Senior Vice President for Global Sales, Marketing and Service, will also be at the show on Oct. 2-3 and will be available for pre-arranged interviews. There are a limited number of Roadsters available for short test drives and photography shoots in Paris. Members of the media can contact the Tesla representatives listed below to schedule a time. Tesla announced on September 17 it planned to build a state-of-the-art assembly plant and consolidated corporate campus in the heart of Silicon Valley. The $250 million facility will be home to the Model S, Tesla’s zero-emission, five-passenger luxury sedan powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. It is expected to have a base price of about $60,000 and get about 240 miles per charge with exceptional performance. The first sedans are likely to roll off the assembly line in late 2010. The new plant will be able to produce at least 15,000 sedans – up to 30,000 with the addition of a second shift. About half of the production vehicles will be slated for sale in Europe. Tesla has not yet started taking deposits on the Model S, but executives anticipate extremely strong demand in the EU and USA. In mid-September Tesla ramped up production of the Roadster, which is produced in collaboration with Lotus Group at Tesla UK in Hethel. About 10 Roadsters start down the assembly line each week, and that number will increase to about 40 per week in early 2009. About 1,200 customers have put down deposits on the Roadster, and Tesla will begin shipping to customers in Europe starting in May. |