California electric-car maker Tesla Motors is expected to announce on Wednesday plans for a new factory in San Jose to build the Model S in late 2010.
A city official told Reuters about the $250 million project. Production is expected to be at least 15,000 annually. Tesla previously said in June that it plans to make the Model S in California.
The five-passenger sedan will carry a sticker of $60,000 and expects to have a range of 220 miles on a single charge.
The Model S was previously known as the WhiteStar. It follows the Tesla Roadster, using a variant of that car's powertrain. It's expected to make about 280 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque.
Earlier this summer, Tesla told AutoWeek that the factory would employ about 400 people, and that it was choosing from two sites in California's Bay Area.
The state offered the company a number of incentives after Tesla flirted with building the factory in New Mexico--a move that electric-car fan Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said drove him "absolutely insane."
Additionally, Tesla has floated $100 million in private-equity financing, and the federal government has chipped in with $150 million in loan guarantees.
The announcement comes a day after General Motors unveiled the production version of its extended-range electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, which also is due out in late 2010.
