Tesla to Discontinue Production of All-Electric Roadster

In a filing with the Security and Exchanges commission last week, California start-up Tesla Motors announced that it would be discontinuing production of its all-electric Roadster sports car sometime next year. The $100,000 plus two seater is Tesla's only production model, which Tesla says it will not revisit until at least 2013. Resources once used to create the Roadster are expected to be retooled for use in the the production version of the Model S, an all-electric luxury car expected to cost in excess of $50,000. Tesla is seeking $100 million in an initial public offering in order to fund the production of the new car.

Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Elon Musk, Tesla has sold a little over 900 Roadsters since the vehicle was approved for sale in 2008. While these sales figures allowed the car maker to post a surprise profit last August, the $20 million generated pales in comparison to the $465 million in federal funds awarded to the company late last year. Tesla detractors point out that the currently privately owned company seems to be in the midst of desperate restructuring. Tesla dramatically increased pricing on the Roadster while simultaneously announcing that they had reduced the cost of the components used to make the car by over 40% in order to "protect the viability" of the company. Daily Finance pointed out the negative attention the company has earned from some Americans for the $465 million the company received, comparing it to "underwriting Lamborghini or Maserati."

Tesla Motors executives officially announced their initial public offering last Friday. Despite posting a cumulative loss of $236 million and having sold less than 1000 cars, they say that the $100 million IPO will be a tremendous success due to an expected surge in stock value as the Model S is introduced to their dealer network.