Tesla Motors, which this month launched a battery-powered roadster based on the Lotus Elise, plans to raise $250m in equity and debt to fund a push into production of electric sedans.

The California-based niche carmaker plans to build an electric four-door, five-passenger luxury sports sedan, comparable to a midrange BMW or Mercedes, that will sell for about half the price of the roadster, which retails in the US for $98,000.