Tesla is still a year away from delivering its first Model S, but the up-start automaker has released official pricing details on its all-electric sedan, along with options and battery specs.

Pricing for the Model S is broken down depending on battery capacity and the resulting range, with the 160-mile version commanding $57,400, the 230-mile variant priced at $67,400 and the 300-mile Model S coming in at $77,400. There’s also the $87,400 Perfomance model which has the same 85-kWh battery as the 300-mile version. It’s worth noting that if you check the new Model S page, Tesla lists pricing after the $7,500 federal tax credit, which is a bit disingenuous, but to Tesla’s credit, it has kept pricing perfectly in line with previous announcements.

The battery specs have also been officially announced, with the 40-kWh pack providing a 160-mile range, a top speed of 110 miles per hour and a 100,000-mile warranty; the 60-kWh pack juicing up for 230 miles, a 120 mph top speed and a 125,000-mile warranty; and finally, the aforementioned 85-kWh battery pack delivering 300 miles of range and a 125 mph top speed in standard spec and a 130 mph top speed in the Performance version. The last two come with an unlimited mileage warranty and Tesla makes a point to clarify that ranges are based on an average speed of 55 mph.

About a month ago we reported that 1,500 Model S buyers showed up at the Tesla NUMMI plant to see firsthand the progress being made at the automaker’s new California factory. Many of those buyers even got the chance to drive pre-production beta models of the Model S. It’s the least Tesla could do to ease the minds of buyers who have already dropped $5,000 for a vehicle that won’t arrive for another year. Now we know that those 1,500 buyers are but a fraction of overall early orders.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has just announced that the Model S is completely sold out for 2012, with 6,500 models already accounted for. Bloomberg reports that Musk gave the update on pre-sales during an interview on “In The Loop With Betty Liu.” Musk added that most of those buyers were new to the Tesla brand, save for about 600 Roadster owners. That’s a lot of potential good news for Tesla, and Musk wasn’t finished. The tech startup mogul also added that Tesla could see an annual profit by 2013 – a lot quicker than many analysts expected.

News of Tesla’s pre-sale orders and the prospect of short-term profits helped jump-start shares of the EV company’s stock by 3.9 percent.

Tesla Motors has put up some new pictures of the Tesla Model S Alpha, and its gorgeous new model looks more production-ready than ever.

The changes we can see are subtle, but compared to the prototype, the Model S now sports a different lower fascia. The new look seems slightly more aggressive and angular compared to the prototype’s rounded appearance, especially the accents under the headlights. The vents(?) above the front wheel wells also appear to have been made smaller, making the car even more sleek.

Tesla recently held a celebration in honor of its newest store, located in Milan, Italy. At the event, customers and company-folk mingled while chatting about their favorite electric car company. One of the key talking points was the upcoming Model S, and Tesla took the opportunity to answer a few questions.

Deliveries of the North American-market Tesla Model S are scheduled to begin in the mid-2012. The first 1,000 vehicles peeled off the assembly line will be Signature Series cars, which means they’re fitted with 300-mile range batteries and identifying options. Once the Signature Series run has been sold, Tesla will continue to produce 300-mile range cars while optional 230-mile and 160-mile Model S sedans will follow later in the year.

The base 160-mile range Tesla Model S will start at $57,000, but a $7,500 tax credit will cut that price to $49,500. Stepping up to the 230-mile range Model S will add $10,000 to the bottom line. The range-topping 300-mile Model S adds $20,000 to the base price. Tesla plans to produce 5,000 units in 2012 before going full-tilt in 2013 with a 20,000 vehicle production run.

Not limited to just the North American market, Tesla will being selling the Model S in Europe during the latter half of 2012. By the middle of 2013, the company will have a right-hand-drive version for the rest of Europe and Asia. Those launches will also features the Signature Series edition.

When Tesla struck a deal a few months ago with Toyota to buy the closed NUMMI factory in Fremont, CA, it was made clear that the $42 million price tag only included the building and property. At the time, Tesla officials indicated that most of the equipment previously used to build Toyota Tacomas and Pontiac Vibeswas unsuitable for its upcoming products.

Apparently, after going through the available machinery, Tesla did find some items it can use and has reached an agreement with Toyota and Motors Liquidation Company (the remnants of the old, bankruptGeneral Motors) to buy some of the equipment for a total of $15 million. Tesla has paid $4.6 million as a deposit toward the purchase and will close the deal along with the property purchase. The purchase likely covers generic equipment such as lift trucks, robots and paint equipment.