Tesla Partners Up with Toyota to Develop EVs, Acquires NUMMI Plant

Tesla recently finalized its purchase of the advanced (and apparently extremely clean) NUMMI production facility in order to build its upcoming Model S sedan. Tesla hopes to build as many as 20,000 units per year in the southern California facility that's capable of building one million units annually.

Other than some potential spin-offs using the Model S platform (like an electric GT), there's a lot of capacity. That's where Toyota steps in. Toyota and Tesla will be working together to develop electric vehicles. their parts, and the engineering behind them.

The new facility will hire up to 1,000 new employees initially from one of the brightest pools around: Silicon Valley.

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VIDEO: Home Made VW Beetle EV "Black Current" Shocks Tesla Roadster

Here's a short clip of a home-made, electric-powered VW Beetle nicknamed "Black Current" (which jets off the line like a penny racer) taking on Tesla's Roadster at the Santa Pod drag strip. According to the info, it was an "Alternative Energy Racing" event, something that will likely be getting more and more common in the future.

The "Black Current" bug is powered by a pair of forklift truck motors with 60 12 volt batteries and a Gearvendor over/under drive unit. This set-up is said to produce around 1200lb/ft of torque offering the Beetle EV a 0-60mph time of around 3 seconds.

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