Tesla sedan coming

AMERICAN electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors confirmed last week that it was working towards a late-2010 production start date for its forthcoming plug-in hybrid sedan known as the WhiteStar, which will join the recently introduced Tesla Roadster.

To be built in California rather than New Mexico as previously planned, the four-door five-seater model has been at the heart of legal action against rival Henrik Fisker, whom Tesla contracted to design the sedan but is now alleged to have done substandard work and in effect delayed the introduction of the vehicle.

Mr Fisker is also alleged to have used confidential information from the project to develop his own rival sedan.

Significantly, Tesla Motors president Ze’ev Drori said last week that the zero-emissions WhiteStar would, unlike the niche roadster, be a “high-volume” vehicle built for “mid-range family use”.

He also confirmed that Tesla would “continue on and build even more affordable (electric) cars” with a cheaper model known as the BlueStar.

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Electric car wars