Tesla Motors, which is considering building a battery-powered sedan in either Downey or Long Beach, plans to go public, according to news reports.
Meanwhile the city of Downey is close to working out a deal to bring a production line to its old NASA site but has not finalized it, city officials said.
Tesla is reportedly considering an initial public offering -- the first for an American carmaker since Ford in 1956 -- to raise cash for its ambitious expansion plans, according to the Reuters news agency.
The IPO would complement $465 million in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy aimed at juicing investment in cleaner automotive technologies.
Though securities markets remain volatile and credit tight, a Tesla IPO would not be unexpected. In 2008, Tesla founder Elon Musk said that he was considering a public offering in 2009 or 2010.
Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes declined to comment on what he called "rumor or speculation," according to Reuters. Reyes did not return a Press-Telegram call seeking independent comment about the IPO or whether the company prefers either Downey or Long Beach.
Both cities are trying to attract the six-year-old company's planned production line -- and an estimated 1,200 jobs -- to industrial properties with aerospace pasts.
The Boeing Co. has been in talks with Tesla about its former 717 site off Lakewood Boulevard. A film studio is also eyeing that location.
Boeing spokeswoman Kathy Spicer said it is Boeing Co. policy not to comment on "potential customers."
Downey would like to bring Tesla to a mix of private and public land -- mostly the former -- where workers once assembled sections of space shuttles and lunar capsules but is now used by Downey Studios for television and film production.
The Downey City Council expects to schedule an emergency session as early as tonight<NO1>11/23<NO> or Wednesday to approve a memorandum of understanding with owners of the property, International Realty Group and their financial backing company, that could facilitate signing a lease with Tesla, said Mayor Mario Guerra.
The carmaker would use the old NASA site off Lakewood Boulevard and Columbia Way that is now occupied by the studios.
"We are looking at what we'll be able to give to make the deal happen," Guerra said.
An official announcement about Tesla locating in Downey could come as early as the first week of December, Guerra said.
The types of incentives Downey could offer to make the deal happen were not disclosed.
Tesla produces the low-volume, all-electric Roadster, which retails for $109,000.
The planned Model S, the model that could be built in Downey or Long Beach, would sell in the $50,000 range -- after tax incentives.
