• San Jose Mercury News, Thursday, October 7, 2010 10:58 AM

Tesla Motors gave a rare peek inside it its Palo Alto headquarters yesterday. Journalists were particularly interested in a new battery pack for the upcoming Model S sedan battery pack, which is flatter than the one in its all-electric Roadster sports car and nearly the width and length of the car, Dana Hull reports.

"The Model S battery is perfectly flat," says Peter Rawlinson, vp and chief engineer for vehicle engineering. "We're using the battery pack as a structural element of the car." It will enhance the Model S's handling and aerodynamics, he claims.

The "upstairs" portion of the facility feels like a social media startup, Hull writes, with no cubicles or walls and the finance, sales, marketing and communications teams all sharing the same open space. CEO Elon Musk has a corner desk with some nice plants and a small conference table about 10 feet from the desks of other top executives. The research and development labs and powertrain manufacturing floor are downstairs.

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