Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held a joint press conference today in which they announced that Toyota would be teaming up with Tesla to produce the Model S electric car in California.

Tesla Model S production will take place in the recently closed NUMMI factory in Fremont. Toyota, the previous owner of the factory, will invest $50 million for a private placement of Tesla common stock and will a production system and possibly some of Toyota’s suppliers.

Schwarzenegger, for his part, offered a sales tax abatement to Tesla for all capital equipment expenditures in retooling the factory. Tesla estimates put the value of the abatement at approximately $20 million over the course of three years or so.

Tesla stated that the Model S production will likely see the return of about 1,000 of the former Toyota factory employees as they look to produce about 20,000 Model S electric cars per year. Tesla also hinted at the possibility of increasing production to a point of requiring  10,000 workers.

As you may have noticed, the Tesla Roadster made an appearance in the first Iron Man movie. The association has continued, deepened slightly even. In Iron Man 2 Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk makes a cameo appearance as himself.

This isn’t the first time Musk has been involved in a Hollywood film as he was a producer on Thank You for Smoking in 2005 and as well as new film coming out this year called Dumbstruck.

But what is most interesting of all is the impact Musk had on the Iron Man script, simply by being who he is. When Iron Man Director Jon Favreau confided in lead actor Robert Downey Jr. that he had no idea how to make the main character, genius billionaire Tony Stark, real. Downey told him, “We need to sit down with Elon Musk.”

Elon Musk, Tesla Motor’s CEO, appeared on Letterman last night and got a chance to plug Tesla’s Roadster and Model S. Both vehicles are electric cars, apparently a powertrain that Letterman has particular fondness for.

At the end of Musk’s appearance on the Letterman he got to wheel out a Tesla Model S and state that the expected cost of owning one of these ultra sleek electric sedans will be $49,900. After stating the Model S price, Musk tries to add something “important” but is cut off by Letterman who insists on ending with a horrible gag where he pretends to be electrocuted by the electric car. Musk was most likely about to add the fact that after a $7,500 government tax break for being an eco-friendly vehicle it would come in at $42,400. Looking at that amazing electric car it sounds pretty reasonable, especially when compared to the Tesla Roadster $109,000 price tag.

But hold on a second. Business Insider took a look at Tesla’s numbers and they are predicting that the Model S won’t be able to make a profit at the price. While Autoblog Green points out that the Business Insider calculation had at least one error (replacement battery cost is $30,000, not $36,000), it still raises some concerns since that’s enough money to buy a pretty sweet sedan by itself.

When we hearken back to all the hubbub when it was announced that the Tesla Roadster would cost more than expected (since Tesla would be charging extra for Roadster components that were originally supposed to be included in the base model price), it’s worrisome to think they might have a similar situation on their hands again.

The Tesla Model S is still about 2 ½ years away from hitting the streets so we’ll see how things change. In the meantime it’ll be interesting to see if Elon Musk starts to raise the predicted price of the Model S on us. Here’s to hoping it stays under $50,000.

UPDATE: Tesla has responded to Business Insider’s Model S price examination and pointed out some problems with the fact that BI Business Insight used “a source who’d prefer to be nameless.”

Tesla responded by saying that: “Wild guesstimates from ostensible experts unwilling to identify themselves have little credibility. Perhaps the biggest flaw in their alleged reasoning is that Tesla has the same cost structure as an enormous automaker; in fact it’s probably the leanest and most efficient in the industry.“

The much-anticipated Tesla Model S was officially unveiled yesterday in Hawthorne, California. The electric sedan was produced in relative secrecy (except for a few leaked Model S pictures the day before the big reveal), as it was designed and built in a high-security rocket facility.

The Tesla Model S anticipated price is set at $57,000 but as Tesla CEO Elon Musk is quick to point out it’s actually shaved to $50,000 after a $7,500 tax break. Musk has also emphasized the value of gas savings from driving an electric car and has suggested that if gas is sold at $4/gallon then the car is essentially only costing closer to $35,000.

This base price would buy a Model S with a 160-mile range pack. Longer range packs will also be available in the future and will include a 230-mile range and a 300-mile range.

Here are a few other Model S details:
It can fit seven people with luggage. That means five adults and two children in rear-facing seats under the hatch inside. Luggage gets stored in the front-end trunk. The 17-inch main display is fully Internet and 3G capable. The basic Model S can be recharged in 4 hours. It will accelerate to 60mph in 5.5 to 6.0 seconds. The Model S runs on a single-speed transmission.

Also, Tesla is working with a government-affiliated partner to set up electric vehicle battery changing stations at various locations. The stations would let batteries get swapped in 5-8 minutes.

Head over to Eco Geek for more high-res Model S pics.

Tesla Motors, manufacturer of the soon to be released Tesla Roadster, have just announced a showing of their more affordable electric vehicle, the Model S sedan.

A street-ready prototype of the all-electric Model S will have its show on March 26.

The Model S will see a price point similar to the Chevy Volt at around $60,000. A far cry from their much-hyped electric sports car the Roadster. The Model S is a four-door, all-electric luxury sedan, which should see production in two years.

While money troubles have dogged Tesla Motors, they are reporting that this won’t be an issue for the Model S production. Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has stated that Tesla expects to receive $350 million in Department of Energy loans that will go to building a Model S factory within four to five months.

Regarding the Tesla Roadster, Musk says that it is sold out for 2009.

The Tesla Roadster repricing debacle is continuing to gather steam and turn into a full on nightmare for Tesla.

It all started when last week Tesla Motors announced that the new much-anticipated Tesla Roadster electric vehicle would be a lot more expensive than what they first claimed it would be. Customers who had locked in on specific vehicles three months before the Tesla Roadster’s build time now found that their choices had been “unlocked” and what they had committed to was now worth significantly more.

CEO Elon Musk recently sent out an email that attempted to explain the causes behind the price hike. The email stated that the price increase was necessary so that Tesla Motors could show they can make a profit so that they can secure loans to help produce the Tesla S. The problem occurred when Tesla realized that the cost of building a Roadster was $140,000. Not good considering the vehicle was originally slated to sell for $92,000.

Apparently the email did little to ease the anger of those who feel like the company pulled a fast one on them. Now Musk is calling two meetings in Los Angeles and Menlo, CA where the Tesla Roadsters were sold in hopes of being able to personally soothe over the bad blood that Tesla Motors has created with many of its customers.