<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"         The holy grail of automakers is the so-called world car \u2014 a vehicle with universal appeal that can be built anywhere with the same component set.   While there&amp;#039;s no doubt that an electric 2-seat sports car like the has that kind of appeal, this Silicon Valley startup has set more modest goals of establishing a solid sales base in America, although the vehicle itself is the product of a far-flung network of suppliers the world over.   The biggest player, of course, is Lotus. The British sports-car maker not only provides the basic building block of the Tesla in the form of a highly modified chassis, it also contributes engineering expertise and is charged with final assembly of the electric roadster. That chassis is made from aluminum extrusions supplied by Norway&amp;#039;s Norsk Hydro ASA. The heart of the car is its 185-kW electric motor, which, along with its Power Electronics Module or controller, is built in Taiwan. The lithium-ion battery pack, with its 6831 individual cells, comes from Thailand.   When all these pieces come together and finished cars are shipped to America \u2014 perhaps as soon as March \u2014 is setting a base price of $98,000 for the 600 customers who have put down deposits. The first 25 cars are allocated to investors, with Job 1 going to PayPal creator Elon Musk, Tesla&amp;#039;s chairman and chief financial backer.   With a measured ramp-up in production and orders in hand, Tesla has time to sort out the particulars of selling 2000 electric sports cars per year \u2014 the maximum capacity of the line at its Hethel factory devoted to Tesla production. Darryl Siry, Tesla&amp;#039;s vice president of sales, marketing and service, said the plan now is to focus on the opening of two company-owned sales and service facilities in California, one in Menlo Park, which neighbors Tesla&amp;#039;s San Carlos headquarters, and a second in West Los Angeles.   Because of the patchwork of new-car sales franchise laws from state to state, Tesla won&amp;#039;t be able to own its distribution system and may choose to deal with franchised dealers or set up a network through a large dealer group similar to smart USA&amp;#039;s arrangement with Roger Penske&amp;#039;s United Automotive Group.   Siry said initial plans to regionally limit Tesla sales and slowly roll out nationally have been abandoned, since customers for the first batch of cars are scattered all around the country. Regionally based service technicians will be used to meet those customer needs.   Eventually, Tesla plans to have a distribution and service net resembling other high-end luxury makes, and Siry said other programs to cater to roadster buyers&amp;#039; lifestyles will be considered, including the possibility of a one-make race series. But beyond being a niche player in the sports-car market, Tesla has greater ambitions of moving into more mainstream markets with the Whitestar executive-class sedan, which would follow in the $50,000\u2013$60,000 range. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a13992/it-takes-a-world-to-build-a-tesla/?src=global_footer>