http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/01/tesla-motors-jo.htmlTesla Motors Joins Daimler On a Smart EV
By Chuck Squatriglia
January 13, 2009
Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk says his electric vehicle start-up has signed a deal to provide Daimler with the battery technology that will power 1,000 electric Smart city cars that will be on the road by the end of the year.
Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad confirmed Musk made the announcement, which has been rumored within the EV sector for months, this morning at the Detroit auto show. Tesla has been working with the German automaker for more than 18 months to develop a battery pack and charger for the Smart EV.
"If the 1,000 vehicle fleet makes sense and the economics are compelling, that will expand to tens of thousands of vehicles per year," Musk said, adding that Daimler sees the electric Smart potentially making up a big chunk of its EV sales.
Daimler hasn't commented on the announcement, which one source tells us may be a tad premature. This source tells us Tesla has been working on a prototype battery pack for several months but Daimler has never let the company formally announce it.
It's also worth noting that Daimler recently announced a joint venture with German battery supplier Evonik to develop lithium ion batteries, and Daimler has said those batteries will be used in the Smart EV.
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