Tesla Motors chief Elon Musk said he would like to unveil a prototype sports utility vehicle (SUV) based on the all-electric Model S platform by the end of next year “if it’s ready”.
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He was speaking after an event at which Tesla officially opened the car plant, formally known as New United Motor Manufacturing Inc (NUMMI), it bought for US$42m in May, where production of the Model S sedan is set to begin in 2012 at an eventual rate of up to 20,000 a year.
“There’s many people that want to drive a sedan, and some people who want to drive an SUV,” Musk told Reuters.
The 5.5m sq ft (510,000 sq m) factory, California’s only remaining vehicle assembly plant, had a capacity of up to 500,000 cars per year and Tesla will use less than one-fifth of the space when production starts.
Of 500 initial employees, 70 are former NUMMI workers, and Tesla hopes to add 500 more workers in its ramp-up, Senator Dianne Feinstein said at the opening ceremony, which included the unveiling of a huge sign on the side of the dormant factory, easily visible from the busy motorway nearby.
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