A fleet of electric Smart cars now being tested in London does not use the Tesla batteries, Musk said. The final version of Tesla's battery, which will be built in California, is still in development.
Daimler brought its Smart fortwo to the US last year just in time for gas prices to peak, and it sold more than 24,000 of them. The eye-catching two-seaters are less than 9 feet (2.7 metres) long with a three-cylinder engine that gets the car 41 mpg (5.7l/100km) on the highway.
The gas-powered fortwo has a starting price of $12,000. Musk didn't disclose how much the electric version would cost or how far it could go on a charge.
Daimler spokeswoman Julia Engelhardt confirmed the electric vehicle will be available in late 2009 but didn't provide any other details.
Tesla, which started in 2004, showed its $109,000 all-electric two-seat Roadster sports car at the Detroit show.
Musk said the company hopes to unveil its five-passenger Model S luxury electric car in late February, with a price tag of $57,400.
Musk said the deal with Daimler was non-exclusive and Tesla was looking to establish more strategic relationships with other automakers.
"We believe in cooperative strategic partnerships and only doing a few of them," Musk said, rejecting reports of a "Silicon Valley versus Detroit" rivalry in the auto industry.
"Nothing can be further from the truth. We've actively sought to work with major car companies to supply them with electric powertrain technology," Musk said.
According to company spokeswoman Rachel Konrad, Tesla's powertrain business, as distinct from its full-fledged electric vehicle unit (which sells the $109,000 electric Roadster) is "cash-flow positive." Musk said that although the company as a whole was not yet profitable, he expected to find the black on operations by "the middle of this year."
In addition to the Roadster, Tesla is also developing a high-end sedan, the Model S. It will be built in San Jose and, Musk said, will cost $49,900, after a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles that was passed by Congress last fall. That is, the Model S will have a sticker price of $57,400. Musk said the company hoped to produce 20,000 of the vehicles, on an annualized basis, by mid-2011.
To fund development of the Model S, Tesla has applied for two sets of government-backed low-cost loans from the Department of Energy. One, for $250 million in Title 17 loan guarantees, "is a when, not an if" proposition, Musk said. The other, loans under the much-publicized $25-billion program for development of advanced automotive technology, would be for $350 million, but that is pending.
Additionally, Musk said the company had a "sub-application" of $100 million in loans to build a plant that makes powertrain components for other auto manufacturers.
In other news, Mike Donoughe, Tesla's chief operating officer, said the company had opened a new office in Auburn Hills, Mich. Staffed with about 15 people, mostly engineers, it will work mainly on development of the Model S.
In October, the company announced that it would close its office in Rochester Hills, Mich., at the same time that Musk removed Ze'ev Drori as CEO and put himself in the position, raising concerns about the company's financial health. (See: As Tesla leaves Detroit, Fisker enters).
To date Tesla has delivered more than 150 of its Roadsters, Donoughe said. Later this year it will begin selling a souped-up, more expensive ($128,500) version called the Roadster Sport, and will begin selling the Roadster in Europe in June.
See Related:
Electric SmartCar Coming Soon (New Energy News 2008).
EVs Light Up Paris Car Show
