Tesla prepares for electric car market to expand

Date: 5/3/2010

Electric car pioneer Tesla is set to get some competition from large car firms, according to a news report.

The Tesla Roadster is the only fully functional and street-legal electric car at the moment but Fisker, Lotus, Ferrari and Porsche are soon releasing their own petrol-electric hybrids.

Some analysts fear that Tesla will lose its competitive advantage with other cars joining the market.

Cristiano Carlutti, head of Tesla's sales and operations in Europe told BBC News: "Whoever does electric is our friend. The fact that large firms enter the electric car market is an advantage for everyone."

Revenues for Tesla were $93.4m during the March to December period of 2009, up from $580,000 during the same period in 2008.

The company is planning to launch a new model in 2012 and has secured a $465 million low-interest loan from the US government's Department of Energy alternative propulsion programmes, according to a report in BBC News.

Mr Carlutti adds that Tesla is "selling range and performance that our competitors are not able to achieve."