Tesla Model S sedan photo released

Tesla has released a teaser photo of their Model S electric sedan. Tesla’s electric sportscar, the Tesla Roadstar, is yet to enter production. The Model S electric sedan would take some time coming, and the company has only produced 200 Tesla Roadster cars so far.

Teaser photo: Tesla Model S sedan

Tesla Motors would unveil a working prototype of the upcoming Model S sedan not before 26 March 2009, it is believed. But the Silicon Valley-based company provided just a glimpse of what their new release would look like.

The founder and CEO Elon Musk told customers and would-be customers all is well with the electric car company, which he says will be profitable by the middle of 2009.

Tesla Roadster photo

Tesla has asked for $350 million to retrofit a factory to assemble its Model S electric sedan and $100 million for its battery-supply business. Elon Musk was quite optimistic about the loan, but no decisions on that have been made yet according to the Feds.

On 30 June, 2008, Tesla Motors announced that the electric car formerly known by its codename, WhiteStar, will be a sedan known as the Model S. While the Tesla Roadster is a high priced sportscar, the Whitestar is a product for the masses – if the company can bring the prices down.

Prices for the Model S will start at $57,500 for the base model. The Tesla Model S will have a range of 150 miles (240 km) or 300 miles (480 km) per charge depending on the variant used. Production is planned to start by mid-2011. The factory will be located on 90 acres (36.4 hectares) in northern San Jose, California.

Not much details of the car have been revealed, but Musk compared the physical contours with that of BMW 5 series or a Cadillac CTC. One insider we know said it will offer the practicality of a 5-series with the sexiness of an Aston Martin Rapide.

But from the few Model S photos we have seen so far, what one can infer is it looks more like a Maserati and Ashton Martin than a BMW. It’s also got better front-end proportions than the Fisker Karma electric car, but then Tesla isn’t stuffing a four-cylinder General Motors engine under the hood to serve as a range-extender.

Once you’ve have accounted for a $7500 Federal tax break on electric cars, The tesla Model S electric sedan is expected to cost not more than $50000 by 2011. That’s less than half the price of the Tesla Roadster, which goes for $109,000.