Well here’s a partnership we could have seen coming. Tesla and Toyota have been respective leaders in electric cars and hybrids, and Tesla has mentioned its intention of working with other automakers in addition to building its own vehicles. Plus, they’re both T’s and who doesn’t love a good pair of T’s?

It’s hard to take anything the Governator says too seriously, but he’s the source of the San Francisco Gate’s article citing the new partnership, which will result in California-built electric cars. It’s supposed to be announced later this afternoon, so we’ll surely have more details then. Until then, you’ll have to daydream about what the T-T partnership will offer. [via SF Gate]

IED/Tesla EYE Concept

The world has largely liked what it’s seen from Tesla. So far, that’s been the all-electric Roadster and Model S sedan. Tesla will slowly broaden its offerings with new models introduced between 2013 and 2014. Autoweek reports that an electric crossover will be among the first of those new models in 2013.

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After making a trip across Switzerland from Geneva to Basel, the TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster is officially on a voyage around the world. The car set out last Thursday on a 12,000-mile around the world, which includes three stops in the U.S. The trip is being hailed as the first trip around the world for a zero-emissions car. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio announced the trip at Baselworld last week, where the TAG Heuer concept watch that fits into the center console was revealed for the first time.

Americans can catch the car in LA on July 29-30, Miami on August 19 and in New York on September 2-5. The voyage can also be followed on Twitter. [via Inside Line]

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We first saw the Tag Heuer Tesla Roadster back in Geneva, and were told then that the car would be making its way to Basel, Switzerland for the Baselworld watch and jewelry show starting on Thursday. Indeed, the car is rolling toward that goal and some more pictures of it have emerged in anticipation of its release to the watch world.

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We’ve always thought that the Tesla Roadster is a thing of singular beauty, and the more models our roadways welcome, the better. According to a Tesla newsletter, Tesla will increase Roadster production by 40 percent and extend sales of the current-generation Roadster into 2012. This news negates previous reports that Tesla would wind down Roadster sales by 2011.

Tesla also announced that it plans to extend its global reach by selling Roadsters in Asia and Australia. The company reports that 23 different countries have taken delivery of Roadsters. [via AutoBlog Green]

Two of the most stylish ‘ T’s ‘ on the planet have teamed up to present a special, one-off roadster. In honor of Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer’s 150th anniversary, the watchmaker has worked with Tesla on the 2010 TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster.

The new Tesla gets decked out in a special exterior with Foucault Field Grey paint designed to parallel the styling within TAG’s new concept watch, which will be unveiled on March 18 at Baselworld, a global watch exhibition. It also gets a unique interior, “incorporating TAG Heuer’s avant-garde design elements” and a special center console that will house TAG’s new watch. The roadster will also come with a TAG Heuer Meridiist phone and a one-fifth second Heuer Limited Edition Stopwatch.

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And we have yet another interesting concept being shown in Geneva. This one is actually the work of some students at the  L ‘Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin. Tesla commissioned a group of eleven students within the Master of Arts in Transportation Design program to craft a vision for the future. The goal was to create an everyday 2+2 car that epitimozes style, performance and desirability while maintaining an affordable price tag. The students worked under the direction of Luca Borgogno from Pininfarina, Andrea Militello of FIAT and Franz von Holzhausen, Chief Designer of Tesla Motors.

Tesla will present a full-sized model of the car at the Geneva Motor Show. [via WCF]

In a little more somber news than we’re used to in the auto world, three executives from electric carmaker Tesla were killed in a plane crash in Palo Alto, California this morning. The twin-engine Cessna 310 was piloted by one Tesla exec and had two passengers on board. The plane belonged to Doug Bourn, a senior electrical engineer at Tesla, but it’s not known whether he was involved in the incident.

The plane had taken off from Palo Alto Airport and was headed to Hawthorne Municipal Airport in LA. The plane crashed into electrical transmission tower shortly after taking off and exploded on impact, landing in an East Palo Alto neighborhood. Four homes were damaged in the crash, but fortunately no one on the ground was injured. The crash did knock out electricity in Palo Alto.

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At the Detroit Auto Show, Tesla is showing off its Model S sedan. Tesla states that the four-door has seating for 7, including a third row that faces the rear designed for children–like the one you used to sit in with your friend when mom drove you to the movies in your Ford Taurus wagon. Production of the Model S sedan is expected to get rolling in 2012. The car will have a more affordable base price of $49,900 (after federal tax credit).

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