Tesla Motors’ second all-electric car, the Model S, is one step closer to reality. On Wednesday morning, the company will announce a deal to lease 89 acres of land in San Jose, Calif. to build a company headquarters and a 600,000-square-foot plant to produce the battery-powered Model S sedan. (The company’s first model, a $109,000 roadster, is assembled in England and California.) ‘This could bring 1,000 green-collar manufacturing jobs, which we’re trying to get back after losing a lot in the bust,’ said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. Tesla is the most recent clean technology company to set up manufacturing in Silicon Valley. ‘We have had a change here in the last year in manufacturing jobs, and Tesla is the latest,’ Mr. Reed said, citing thin-film solar companies that are also manufacturing in the region. The Model S will drive on the power from a lithium-ion battery pack and will be able to travel about 200 miles per charge. It will hit the roads at the end of 2010, the San Carlos, Calif., company said, and will sell for around $60,000. That is half the price of the 2010 Tesla Roadster sports car, which has a […]

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