From: C. E. White on
Tesla to make electric vehicles with Toyota, buy NUMMI
Mark Rechtin
and Lindsay Chappell
Automotive News -- May 20, 2010 - 5:36 pm ET

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Toyota Motor Corp. and Tesla Motors Inc. will
team to produce electric vehicles at New United Motor Manufacturing
Inc. in Fremont, Calif., a plant that Toyota last year ruled too
inefficient to keep open.

Tesla will acquire the now-closed NUMMI property and employ 1,000
people building unspecified electric vehicles in a partnership with
the world's largest automaker, the companies announced Thursday.

Toyota will invest $50 million in the small California-based electric
sports maker in exchange for Tesla's common stock when the EV company
completes its planned initial public offering.

In addition to the NUMMI purchase, the venture will spur a
product-development relationship between the automakers.

Under the partners' scenarios, Tesla will gain from Toyota's scale,
engineering resources and access to its supplier base. Toyota, in
turn, will have Tesla's lean and rapid product development, as well as
its electric vehicle technology. Toyota is still using older-tech
nickel-metal-hydride batteries in its Prius and other hybrids, while
Tesla is using newer, lithium-ion batteries.

Said Toyota President Akio Toyoda: "Decades ago, Toyota was also born
as a venture business. By partnering with Tesla, my hope is that all
Toyota employees will recall that venture business spirit and take on
the challenges of the future."

Costs

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said his company would spend "a couple of hundred
million dollars" preparing NUMMI for the project.

That cost will be covered by $465 million in Department of Energy
loans that will fund the manufacturing ramp-up, as well as development
of the upcoming Model S sedan.

NUMMI's costs also will be defrayed by about $20 million in sales tax
abatements the state of California is providing Tesla in its capital
expenditures, Musk said.

NUMMI, a former joint venture between Toyota and General Motors,
closed earlier this year amid a storm of criticism from the plant's
UAW work force.

Musk said the negotiations to acquire the closed plant, located across
San Francisco Bay from Tesla's Palo Alto headquarters, concluded
yesterday.

He said that Tesla's next car, a Model S that will debut in 2012, will
account for about 20,000 units a year. Other models will follow off
the platform.

"NUMMI is a massive plant. We're going to be occupying a little
corner," Musk said. He added that he expects the plant to build
"hundreds of thousands" of more affordable electric vehicles in the
longer term.

"That's where NUMMI is great. It's designed for high-volume, efficient
production," Musk said.

He said that eventually the project would account for 10,000 jobs,
including positions with suppliers.

Tesla has said that the Model S will sell for about $40,000. Until it
appears, Tesla is marketing a two-seat electric sports car that
retails for more than $100,000.

Toyota has expressed little interest in electric cars before today.
The Japanese automaker has staked considerable research and marketing
investment on its popular hybrid-drive vehicles, including the Prius
and hybrid Camry.


You can reach Mark Rechtin at mrechtin(a)crain.com.


Read more:
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100520/OEM05/100529982/1186#ixzz0oZ3LrjXq


From: hls on

"C. E. White" <cewhite3(a)mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:ht5shs$v2$1(a)news.eternal-september.org...
> Tesla to make electric vehicles with Toyota, buy NUMMI


Mark MUST be joking...

Another Mark (Weiss) is a stock market guru who has called a number
of the big movement in the market.. Last night, he was cautioning investor
to go to cash.. Claims another crash of hobbling proportions is in the
wind.

From: Mike Hunter on
One must wonder if the Toyota electric vehicles will cost over $100,000,
like those sold by Tesla?


"C. E. White" <cewhite3(a)mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:ht5shs$v2$1(a)news.eternal-september.org...
> Tesla to make electric vehicles with Toyota, buy NUMMI
> Mark Rechtin
> and Lindsay Chappell
> Automotive News -- May 20, 2010 - 5:36 pm ET
>
> PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Toyota Motor Corp. and Tesla Motors Inc. will team to
> produce electric vehicles at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. in
> Fremont, Calif., a plant that Toyota last year ruled too inefficient to
> keep open.
>
> Tesla will acquire the now-closed NUMMI property and employ 1,000 people
> building unspecified electric vehicles in a partnership with the world's
> largest automaker, the companies announced Thursday.
>
> Toyota will invest $50 million in the small California-based electric
> sports maker in exchange for Tesla's common stock when the EV company
> completes its planned initial public offering.
>
> In addition to the NUMMI purchase, the venture will spur a
> product-development relationship between the automakers.
>
> Under the partners' scenarios, Tesla will gain from Toyota's scale,
> engineering resources and access to its supplier base. Toyota, in turn,
> will have Tesla's lean and rapid product development, as well as its
> electric vehicle technology. Toyota is still using older-tech
> nickel-metal-hydride batteries in its Prius and other hybrids, while Tesla
> is using newer, lithium-ion batteries.
>
> Said Toyota President Akio Toyoda: "Decades ago, Toyota was also born as a
> venture business. By partnering with Tesla, my hope is that all Toyota
> employees will recall that venture business spirit and take on the
> challenges of the future."
>
> Costs
>
> Tesla CEO Elon Musk said his company would spend "a couple of hundred
> million dollars" preparing NUMMI for the project.
>
> That cost will be covered by $465 million in Department of Energy loans
> that will fund the manufacturing ramp-up, as well as development of the
> upcoming Model S sedan.
>
> NUMMI's costs also will be defrayed by about $20 million in sales tax
> abatements the state of California is providing Tesla in its capital
> expenditures, Musk said.
>
> NUMMI, a former joint venture between Toyota and General Motors, closed
> earlier this year amid a storm of criticism from the plant's UAW work
> force.
>
> Musk said the negotiations to acquire the closed plant, located across San
> Francisco Bay from Tesla's Palo Alto headquarters, concluded yesterday.
>
> He said that Tesla's next car, a Model S that will debut in 2012, will
> account for about 20,000 units a year. Other models will follow off the
> platform.
>
> "NUMMI is a massive plant. We're going to be occupying a little corner,"
> Musk said. He added that he expects the plant to build "hundreds of
> thousands" of more affordable electric vehicles in the longer term.
>
> "That's where NUMMI is great. It's designed for high-volume, efficient
> production," Musk said.
>
> He said that eventually the project would account for 10,000 jobs,
> including positions with suppliers.
>
> Tesla has said that the Model S will sell for about $40,000. Until it
> appears, Tesla is marketing a two-seat electric sports car that retails
> for more than $100,000.
>
> Toyota has expressed little interest in electric cars before today. The
> Japanese automaker has staked considerable research and marketing
> investment on its popular hybrid-drive vehicles, including the Prius and
> hybrid Camry.
>
>
> You can reach Mark Rechtin at mrechtin(a)crain.com.
>
>
> Read more:
> http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100520/OEM05/100529982/1186#ixzz0oZ3LrjXq
>


From: Hachiroku ハチロク on
On Fri, 21 May 2010 07:58:47 -0400, C. E. White wrote:

>
> Under the partners' scenarios, Tesla will gain from Toyota's scale,
> engineering resources and access to its supplier base. Toyota, in turn,
> will have Tesla's lean and rapid product development, as well as its
> electric vehicle technology. Toyota is still using older-tech
> nickel-metal-hydride batteries in its Prius and other hybrids, while Tesla
> is using newer, lithium-ion batteries.

IIRC, you are an engineer?

Li-IO batteries are tempermental. They were responsible for the laptop
blowups 4 years ago. If they are allowed to go over voltage or
undervoltage they can get intoa 'runaway' state and FFFFFFFFFT!

I use Li Io batteries in my electronic ciggies. THe thought of having
something like that close to my face is a little unnerving. Indeed, one
experimenter (who, against better judgement didn't use Protected batteries
in his home-made power source) suffered 2nd & 3rd degree burns when his
experimental e-cig went FFFFFFFT in his pocket.

Is it worse than Gasoline? Maybe not. More modern devices like cell
phones, etc are using newer Li-Po (Lithium-Polymer) batteries that are a
bit more even tempered when pushed to their limits. The state of the art
right now is that although they are about the same price as Li-Io
batteries, the charge doesn't last quite as long, so more recharging is
required.

But, that should be solved within the next 5 years, or an even better
power source will probably be on line.



From: Mike Hunter on
That is the last thing Toyota need right now, something else to run away.


"Hachiroku ????" <Trueno(a)e86.GTS> wrote in message
news:oUDJn.15553$jt.9296(a)newsfe04.iad...
> On Fri, 21 May 2010 07:58:47 -0400, C. E. White wrote:
>

> Li-IO batteries are tempermental. They were responsible for the laptop
> blowups 4 years ago. If they are allowed to go over voltage or
> undervoltage they can get intoa 'runaway' state and FFFFFFFFFT!
>