By Khalida Sarwari
Electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors Inc. has announced that it is opening a powertrain production facility in Palo Alto’s Stanford Research Park and plans to move its corporate headquarters there.
The company, currently based in San Carlos, announced that it will move into a renovated 350,000-square-foot manufacturing facility formerly occupied by Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies located at 3500 Deer Creek Road.
The new facility will allow Tesla to develop and manufacture electric vehicle components as well as sell battery engine technology to other automakers, according to the company. One of those automakers is Daimler, the maker of Mercedes, which will build an electric version of the Smart car using Tesla battery packs and chargers, according to Tesla.
Tesla’s chief technology officer, JB Straubel, said the larger facility will allow the company to double its number of employees from 300 to 600.
Straubel said one of the main ideas behind the move is to settle into a single facility that allows “efficient communication and gives us room for growth in the coming years.”
“We’re thrilled to stay in the Bay Area,” Straubel said.
The company’s aim is to produce affordable cars for the average buyer and lower the cost of electric vehicle technology. In Palo Alto, the company will continue its focus on powertrain research, development and assembly and also be in a better position to recruit local engineering
talent, Straubel said.
“It’s a chance to keep some of the great talents possibly coming through Stanford,” Straubel said.
Tesla, which has produced nearly 700 Roadster sports cars, will begin producing its new Model S luxury five-seat sedan by 2011. The company is still negotiating for an assembly plant site for the Model S, which will likely be produced outside of the Bay Area.
Last September, Tesla had announced plans to move the company’s assembly plant for the Model S and corporate campus to an 85-acre lot in San Jose at Zanker Road and state Highway 237, but that plan was stymied by the collapse of the credit market, said Michelle McGurk, spokeswoman for San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed.
She said that Tesla’s move to Palo Alto will benefit the regional economy.
“While disappointed that they won’t be moving to San Jose, we look forward to their contributions to the growing clean-tech sector in Silicon Valley,” McGurk said.
Straubel said the Stanford Research Center meets many of the company’s needs on top of being in a convenient location for employees.
Palo Alto City Manager James Keene lauded the move, saying that the city promotes sustainability and is strongly committed to green technology.
“Stanford, its Research Park and Palo Alto have always been at the forefront of new technological discoveries and inventions, as well as fostering practices and ideas that increase environmental sustainability,” Keene said.
Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin this fall. Part of the financing for the project will come from federal loans, said Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad. She said the company received approval for about $465 million in low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Energy in June.