"There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle," the car company's founder and namesake told ABC News. "They don't exis

"There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle," the car company's founder and namesake told ABC News. "They don't exist here." I don't think this was a dig at US factories just the fact that the type of factory they were looking for doesn't exist in the US. They want a factory to build cars on contract. Car factories are incredibly expensive, take years to build, and decades to recover the cost. But if someone asked you to build something and you know its going to cost millions in retooling you want a bigger guarantee than 3-5 years. Tesla was lucky by the fact that the old Toyota plant was available and ready. And they didn't contract the work, they bought it which means they are committed for the long haul.