Tesla CEO: Obama Re-Election Should Improve Electric, Hybrid Car Production, President Wants One Million Plug-Ins On U.S. Roads By 2015 (VIDEO)

Nov 14, 2012 05:01 PM EST | Matt Mercuro

The re-election of President Barack Obama should improve the production of electric and hybrid motor vehicles according to Tesla Motors Inc CEO Elon Musk.

"I think that we can expect at least that things will continue as they have," Musk told reporters at an event in New York. "I wouldn't expect it to get any worse for electric vehicles, hopefully it will get a little better."

Obama stated during his campaign for re-election in regards to the motor industry that he would like over one million plug-in hybrids, pure electric vehicles and extended-range electric cars on U.S. roads no later than 2015. This is good news for companies like Tesla who received a $465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2010.

Reuters reports that Tesla will be focusing their engineering efforts to the Model X crossover utility this year and the car is scheduled to be released in early 2014. The third-generation car will cost approximately $30,000.

"We've got to stay the course, ramp up production, we've got to start making the next generation of vehicles affordable," Musk said during an event to announce the Motor Trend Car of the Year award ceremony.

Tesla came away from the award ceremony with the top prize of the night as the Tesla Model S won Motor Trend's Car of the Year award for 2012. It was the first all-electric car to win the prestigious award ever.

The Model S currently costs $49,900 to $70,000 and is advertised as a car that can get 160 miles on a single charge and can reach 60 mph in four seconds flat.

"This is a point at which the gears of history moved," said Musk at the event. "I hope that other automakers will copy us and follow through and do electric cars with more vigor."

The company is also mulling over the idea to install "superchargers" at hotel locations to help improve sales since many people shy away from electric cars because they're afraid of getting stranded on the road. By the end of 2013, the company expects every major route in the U.S. to have access to a supercharging station for electric cars to charge up in around 30 minutes or less.

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