By Micheline Maynard
The Tesla Model S, image via Motor Trend.
Tesla Motors has become the darling of investors, and the buzz of the technology world. Everyone seems fascinated by the Model S, the $70,000 electric sedan that recently got the highest ratings ever from the federal government.
Teslas are built in Fremont, Calif., at the same factory that General Motors and Toyota once used for a joint venture. Before that, Fremont was a GM plant.
Fremont is capable of producing 500,000 cars a year, and Elon Musk, the billionaire who started Tesla, has vowed he’s going to fill the place up with electric sedans and a crossover vehicle that’s due next year.
But he also has bigger plans.
As I outline in Forbes, Musk is starting to look at factory locations in Europe, Asia and elsewhere in the United States. He told Bloomberg TV that he’s going to need more capacity when Tesla introduces a small luxury car later this decade.
That brings up some questions: how big can Tesla become? And what will that mean to the rest of the auto industry?
Read the story and let us know what you think about Tesla. Has it caused you to rethink the way you get around? We’d love to hear from any Model S owners in our audience.