Toyota and Tesla Team Up?

Small volume companies are hard to come by in the automotive industry. Globalization and consolidation due to economies of scale have snuffed out most of the smaller guys. Tesla, on the other hand, is a startup company that aims to defy that.

So far, Tesla has already cooperated with Daimler, inking a deal with the company that resulted in a 10% stake. As part of that deal, Tesla provided electric powertrains for the smart lineup.

Another partnership could be in the works now, announced today by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He said that Tesla Motors will partner with Toyota to build electric cars in California.

As most following the company know, Tesla has been working to find a California manufacturing facility. They were rumored to have selected a facility in Downey.

Who knows what the situation is now, given that Toyota has recently faced flak over the closure of the NUMMI plant in Fremont.

General Motors pulled out of the manufacturing partnership at the plant after it went through the bankruptcy process. It will be interesting to hear the extent of the deal. Shouldn't be too long before we find out all the details.