Tesla Motors Inc. is set to deliver two rechargeable prototype electric cars to Toyota Motor Corp. this month, marking the first step in their alliance. In Toyota’s announcement last May, the world’s largest seller of hybrid autos said that it will invest $50 million in Tesla and then move to jointly develop electric models. JB Straubel, Tesla’s chief technology officer, said that both prototypes are modified Toyota vehicles. In an e-mail, Straubel said that since the May announcement, the engineering teams of both companies have progressed much in a short time. He also said that the initial results are exciting. Tesla has signed a deal to transport two prototypes to Toyota by the end of July. Last Friday, President Akio Toyoda told reporters in Nagoya, Japan, that Toyota’s partnership with Tesla is the first of more such alliances the Japanese company seeks to pursue in advanced auto technologies. Tesla is famous for being the producer of the $109,000 electric Roadster sports car. The US and other markets have been pressuring carmakers, including Toyota, to create models that consume little or no petroleum and have reduced CO2 emissions.
