Tesla Motors has planned to begin building prototypes of its Model S electric sedan in the third quarter at the NUMMI plant located in Fremont, Calif, which was acquired from Toyota last year.

Tesla‘s Model S sedan is looking ready for production, as evident by these new photos released by the electric car manufacturer. Based on its aesthetics alone, the Model S will be very competitive in the mid-size luxury market, featuring an aggressive front end with a very sleek and stylish body. Unfortunately we’re looking at a late next year sale date now and we’re hoping it’ll be worth the wait.

They already have the Model S sedan, which is set to go on sale in 2012, but now they are also working on a crossover vehicle, which is referred to as the Model X.

With the Gumball 3000 already underway (it started May 26), the folks in charge of the international parade of shenanigans has released a video showing the rally’s start in Covent Garden, London. The 19 minute video shows over 100 of the most magnificent and rare supercars in the world. Even the rain couldn’t stop the massive crowd that gathered to watch the beginning of the world’s most fun and most glamorous rally.

The 3000 mile rally will start in London and end in Istanbul over a seven day period across 10 countries, via Paris, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Milan, Venice, Zagreb, Belgrade and Sofia. It was also revealed that the 2011 rally would cost £25,000 to take part in.

Participants include the “who’s who” of the international social scene, Sheikhs, entrepreneurs, oil tycoons, and dot com billionaires.

The incredible line up includes Pagani Zondas, Bugatti Veyrons, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Aston Martins, Jaguars, Porsches, Morgans and several Lotus’, and this year, over 20 eco and concept electric cars are taking part as Gumball enters a new decade of green motoring!

Check out the video after the jump!

For the second year in a row, while competing against alternative-fuel cars and hybrids, an all-electric Tesla Roadster has won the Monte Carlo Alternative Energy Rally.

Tesla is suing the BBC following a 2008 episode of Top Gear in which its electric Roadster ran out of power while competing against a gas-powered Lotus.

Earth Week is scheduled from Friday, April 15 through Friday, April 22. The parade of cars and trucks will take place on Tuesday, April 19, and be part of the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) conference. Twenty-two companies will participate, including AMP Electric Vehicles, BMW, Coda Automotive, Edison Electric Institute, General Motors, Mitsubishi, Tesla, Toyota and VW.

American electric car maker Tesla Motors has filed a lawsuit against the BBC over an episode of its popular Top Gear show that Tesla says is libelous and contains, “malicious falsehood.”

With most car manufacturers, the different trim levels often signify how well-equipped a vehicle is. But the new Tesla Model S electric car will use them in a different manner, with the three trims carrying different batteries, ranging from 160 to 300 miles.

Tesla is making a big name for themselves. As if the Model S and and Roadster weren’t enough, the battery-powered company is planning to introduce more models to their lineup: the Model X, as they plan to call it, will be an electric crossover based on the same architecture as developed by Lotus, the Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA). The VVA is an all-aluminum platform shared by contemprary Lotuses (Loti?), but its ability to be resized makes it perfect for both the Model X, their sedan, the Model S, an upcoming three-row SUV, as well as a coupe, to complete the metaphor of multiplying like cell biology.

However, the Roadster model is quite expensive and impractical and Tesla is aware of that. So to appeal to the masses, Tesla has been working on a sedan of its very own, known as the Model S (obviously taking naming inspiration from the Ford Model T).

It looks now that the Model S has gotten closer to production as the company just released a video of it rolling along silently in the countryside.  Tesla’s vehicle dynamicist Graham Sutherland says the Model S is “amazingly agile for a car of its size. It has great handling balance and poised ride with communicative steering.” He attributes these qualities thanks to a stiff body and a low center of gravity.

Tesla claims that the Model S will have a range of about 300-miles on a full charge and will accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 5.6 seconds. Sounds good to us and we hope to get our hands on one in the near future.

Follow the jump to view the video:

Tesla‘s Model S Sedan will be profitable for the company,  even at lower volumes thanks to its cheaper batteries. While Tesla says it only needs 20,000 vehicles a year to make money, whereas competitors like Nissan need to move 500,000 units annually to amortize the R&D costs of their EV systems.

Tesla Motors share price feel by roughly 15 percent Monday as company insiders rushed to dump their shares after the expiration of a 180 day limit on selling their stock holdings.

Tesla Motors announced that 3,000 people have submitted their deposits for a Model S sedan. Slated to go into production in 2011, Tesla also announced that crash testing and other necessities will begin next year, with deliveries starting in 2012.

By getting into the holiday spirit and putting up some outdoor lights on your house, you could win a two nights at the Ritz-Carlton and a test drive in a Tesla electric supercar from Sunday Drive.

The next product from Tesla is not the long awaited Model S sedan, but something far more plebian – a Toyota RAV4 using a Tesla derived battery pack and electric propulsion system.

When we test drove the Tesla Roadster Sport 2.5 , we did our best to provide you with an accurate impression of what it feels like to drive something so completely different from anything else on the road.

Even with the limited range, the lack of practicality and the huge pricetag, we would still have one without thinking. This video should explain why.

The young auto enthusiast in this video best represents the mixture of fear and exhiliration when you put your foot down and feel the car just GO. Although we managed to get a giggle out of Peter Miller, our photographer for the Tesla review, Peter races go-karts at a high level and is used to going fast. For the average person, the video below is much more accurate of what it really feels like to hit warp speed in Elon Musk’s electric speed-demon.

Hit the jump to see the Tesla Roadster acceleration video.

[Thanks to Autoblo g for the link]