A defunct Boeing plant in Long Beach is back on Tesla Motors Inc.’s list of possible factory sites. Also on the list is a location in Downey.
The two sites are among an unknown number of possible locations, all in California, for a plant that will build the Tesla Model S, a four-door all-electric sedan the company plans to put into production in 2011, a source at the San Carlos-based company told the Business Journal on condition of anonymity.
The two sites are among a small number of the company’s top choices after a process of elimination.
“It’s not an extensive list at this point,” the source said.
Tesla had previously been considering a 78-acre defunct Boeing manufacturing plant in Long Beach, but started looking elsewhere when a deal couldn’t be reached, according to a different source familiar with the search.
It’s unknown where the candidate site in Downey is located.
When built, the Tesla plant is expected to create about 500 jobs.
Rachel Konrad, a spokeswoman for the company, said Tesla would not comment on specific sites it is considering. She said the company was negotiating for several different locations and has not set a date for an announcement.
The electric car maker has been on a hot streak recently. In June, the company announced it was awarded $465 million in federal grants to build two plants in California. One plant will build power trains for electric cars and will be located in Silicon Valley. The second plant will build the Model S.
In July, Tesla announced it turned a $1 million profit, the first profitable quarter in the company’s six-year history.
Tesla currently sells the Roadster, a sleek two-door all-electric sports car that retails for about $109,000. The car’s lithium ion battery pack, which gives it a range of around 240 miles, can be charged from a standard wall socket.
The Model S, Tesla’s second model, is expected to have a base price of around $57,000. The car is designed to carry seven passengers and represents an effort by Tesla to break into the lucrative luxury sedan market.
Startup Sold
A buyer for Desktop Factory Inc., a Pasadena startup that built printerlike machines to produce three-dimensional models, has stepped forward.
3D Systems Corp., a publicly traded manufacturer of 3-D printers based in Rock Hill, S.C., announced Aug. 31 that it had bought most of Desktop Factory’s assets. 3D Systems plans to integrate Desktop Factory’s technology into its products, the company said in a statement.
Founded in 2004, Desktop Factory designed a printing device that would create models with plastic powder. The Idealab spinoff was trying to bring a product to market that would cost less than $5,000, but it ran out of funding.
In August, Desktop Factory announced that most of the company’s staff was laid off. The company also announced that it would refund about 215 deposits for printers, and seek a buyer.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the acquisition, 3D Systems agreed to hire a handful of Desktop Factory’s former employees, Cathy Lewis, Desktop Factory’s chief executive, said in an e-mail. But she declined to say how many.
Funds for MyShape
MyShape Inc., a Glendale Internet startup that matches women’s wear to customers based on an analysis of their body shape, recently completed a $10.6 million fundraising round, according to securities filings.
Louise Wannier, MyShape’s chief executive, declined to comment on the amount the company raised. MyShape had sought to raise $12.1 million when it began the round, according to Securities Exchange Commission documents.
Company executives plan to use the money to build on MyShape’s Internet marketplace and to sign partnerships with clothing companies, Wannier said in an e-mail.
This was the company’s third fundraising round. Wannier declined to specify how much the company had raised to date.
The round was spearheaded by DFJ Growth Fund, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that also has invested in Tesla Motors and SolarCity Corp., a Foster City solar power company. As part of the firm’s investment in MyShape, Barry Schuler, former chief executive of America Online Inc. and a managing partner at DFJ, will join the company’s board.
Staff reporter Charles Proctor can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225 ext. 230.
