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Electric Horses
On A Electric Horse I will Ride Tesla Motors ArtByLetters Beyond2020 The initial, Series A investment round of USD$7.5 million was led by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk in April 2004 and included Compass Technology Partners. Musk became Tesla's Chairman of the Board and in February 2005, led Tesla Motors' second, USD$13 million Series B investment round which added Valor Equity Partners to the funding team. Musk co-led the third, USD$40 million Series C round in May 2006 along with VantagePoint Venture Partners. Tesla's third round included investment from prominent entrepreneurs including Google co-founders Sergey Brin & Larry Page, former eBay President Jeff Skoll, Hyatt heir Nick Pritzker and added the VC firms Draper, Fisher, Jurvetson, Capricorn Management and The Bay Area Equity Fund Managed by JP Morgan.[1]
The fourth, Series D round in May 2007 added another USD$45 million and brought the total investments to over $105 million USD through private financing. Elon Musk, who was President of PayPal before it was bought by eBay, has contributed $37 million of his own money to the company.
Tesla Motors' first production vehicle, the Tesla Roadster, is an all-electric sports car. According to test results from an EPA certified laboratory, the car has a range of 221 miles (356 km). The company and reviewers state that the Tesla Roadster accelerates from 0 to 60 mph (100 km/h) in less than 4 seconds, and has a top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h) (limited for safety). The cost of powering the vehicle is estimated at US$0.02 per mile.[5]
Prototypes were introduced to the public in July 2006, and the Tesla Roadster was featured on the cover of Time Magazine in December 2006 as the recipient of the magazine's "Best Inventions 2006 - Transportation Invention" award.[5] Demand has been high for the first "Signature One Hundred" set of fully equipped Roadsters, which sold out in less than three weeks,[6] and the second hundred sold out by October, 2007. As of May 2 2008, more than 600 Tesla Roadsters have been reserved and 400 more are on the waiting list.[7] The first production model was delivered to Elon Musk, Chairman of the Board, in February, 2008 and were in general production by March 17, 2008.[8]
The first Tesla store opened in Los Angeles, CA in April 2008.
The Michigan Technical Center, located in Rochester Hills, Michigan, opened January 26, 2007. It is a 19,240-square-foot (1,787 m²) facility located at 1840 Enterprise Drive. Approximately $47.7 million will be spent on tooling.
The primary focus of the facility is on research & development for future Tesla products. The first priority is the four-door electric sports sedan project codenamed “WhiteStar”. It will be a four door, five-passenger, lightweight, high-performance sedan planned for production around 2009.
BlueStar, the more-affordable third model, will also be developed here.
The region has an existing base of automotive companies, facilities and engineering talent, with thousands of highly experienced automotive experts. Utilizing these existing resources will reduce costly investments for Tesla Motors.
This facility will be the world's first factory dedicated to the mass production of electric vehicles. The company intends to produce at least 10,000 vehicles per year.[12] SunCal, a land development company, has pledged to provide up to 75 acres (300,000 m²) of land next to the initial site at no cost, if Tesla Motors undertakes a major expansion in the future.
Construction was originally planned to begin in April 2007, with completion expected by 2009, including tooling. Tesla Motors has stated that it intends to offer the Tesla WhiteStar for sale in the Fall of 2009.
Also, Tesla Motors will most likely win the $10 million Progressive Automotive X Prize
sources from wikipedia and tesla motors
 
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