02/03/12 1:00pm

Article By: EarthTechling

February 3, 2012 By Steve Duda

Outside of the Toyota Prius or the Chevy Volt, Tesla is the best known name in the ever-growing world of alternative fuel vehicles. And now, as the release of the company’s new flagship car, the Model S, creeps ever closer, the Tesla hype machine is beginning to shift into high gear.

The new Tesla S—an electric, full-size, rear-wheel-drive, five-seat sedan—is a departure from the company’s previous car, the high-performance, high-speed, high-price-tag Roadster. To that end, the company is seeking to recast itself, not simply as a one-trick sports car company, but instead as an all-electric brand capable of competing with luxury car makers the likes of BMW, Mercedes and Audi with its higher-end models.

image via Tesla Motors

Ahead of the anticipated mid-2012 delivery date of the Model S, Tesla has already begun to woo potential drivers. The company’s website recently posted a preview video, complete with U2 sound-alike background music, that features Tesla execs extolling the virtues of the Model S. Elsewhere on Tesla’s flashy website are features on the upcoming car’s design and manufacturing, reviews from the automobile press who’ve had the opportunity to drive a Model S, as well as virtually any speck of information you’d care to know about the car.

image via Tesla Motors

Tesla says deliveries of the California-manufactured electric car will begin this summer. In it’s first year of production Tesla hopes to have 5,000 Model S vehicles on the streets. In subsequent years, the company hopes to hit a production goal of 20,000 vehicles.