Tesla Motors on an upswing?

San Carlos, Calif.-based Tesla Motors said today it has signed leases for two new showrooms for its electric vehicles, continuing the upswing that began in January with its deal to supply the lithium-ion battery pack and chargers for Daimler's Smart car.

The new showrooms in London's Knightsbridge district and Chicago are expected to be followed by sites under negotiation in Manhattan, Miami, Seattle and Munich later this year. The carmaker already operates two stores in California, in Menlo Park and Los Angeles.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk plans to send an e-mail to customers later today assuring them of the company's viability. Tesla has bounced back from near-bankruptcy late last year with the security of $40 million in convertible debt and cost-cutting measures that could lead the company to profitability by mid-2009, Musk wrote (see Tesla's new convertible).

Tesla has produced 200 Roadsters, with more than 1,000 customers awaiting delivery of the $109,000 vehicle. The company is sold out through November's production despite cancellations of orders that Musk attributed to the economic downturn.

"Already, the Tesla Roadster is the car of choice among the technology, business and Hollywood A lists—this year’s Academy Awards will be a lineup of Teslas—and we have never had to give a discount to anyone," Musk wrote. "Many customers also appreciate the fact that profit from their purchase goes towards helping Tesla develop more affordable, mass market electric cars."

Tesla plans to unveil its first vehicle aimed at a broader market, the roughly $60,000 Model S sedan, on March 26. Production has been delayed because Tesla was not able to secure the private financing for a new $250 million factory in San Jose (see But... doesn't a superhero need arch enemies? and Cleantech deals in garbage, lighting and batteries).

Musk then applied for $350 million in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy to build the factory on brownfields and further develop its batteries, abandoning plans to build the plant on undeveloped land in San Jose (see Tesla CEO says carmaker is bouncing back and Tesla to build factory, new HQ in San Jose).

The company hasn't secured the loans, but Musk said today the DOE told him it could disperse funds within four or five months, paving the way for production of the sedan to start in 2011.

Meanwhile, Tesla continues to concentrate on cutting costs and profiting from its lithium ion battery technology. The deal with Daimler would supply battery packs and chargers for  a test fleet of 1,000 electric Smart cars—a deal Tesla hopes to parlay into tens of thousands of cars, Musk said.

Tesla advertises its battery pack to last seven years or 100,000 miles under normal use. Customers can pay $12,000 upfront to receive a replacement pack after seven years, but the cost varies if the customer replaces it earlier or later, Musk said.

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