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Electric-car maker Tesla Motors is expected to announce early next week whether Flagstaff will become home to its first U.S. assembly plant.

According to a Flagstaff city official, the San Carlos, Calif.-based company is close to making a decision, as Flagstaff competes against several other regions, including Contra Costa County, Calif., and Albuquerque.

Flagstaff Mayor Joe Donaldson said he was told Tesla officials could not reach a decision this week on the final location of a plant, estimated to cost $300 million and employ 400.

Donaldson said the city has been working hard to bring the company to Flagstaff and refused to disclose specifics of the incentive package offered to the electric-car maker, but it is expected to be a mix of state and local incentives.

The Flagstaff mayor said he has been in close contact with Gov. Janet Napolitano, noting Napolitano's office has worked hard to lure the company to Flagstaff.

Donaldson said Arizona's senators, Jon Kyl and John McCain, both Republicans, have lobbied Tesla on behalf of the city.

Officials from the Arizona Department of Commerce would not comment on possible incentives offered to Tesla, and Napolitano's office could not be reached for comment.

The plant, which is slated to open in 2009, would build the second offering from Tesla Motors, a four-door sedan named "White Star."

The sedan, expected to be powered by a proprietary lithium-ion battery, will have a base cost of $50,000, while a fully loaded sedan is expected to cost $65,000. The company, according to published media reports, plans to produce 1,000 electric cars a year.

The company already sells a limited-production two-seat roadster, which is built by Lotus in England for Tesla Motors.

The roadster is priced at $92,000 and is reportedly sold out in its initial 2007 model run.

According to the Tesla Web site, the sports car has a 250-mile range on its lithium-ion batteries and can reach speeds of 130 mph.

Major investors in the electric-car company include PayPal tycoon Elon Musk and wealthy co-founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Tesla's founder and CEO, Martin Eberhard, launched an electronic book reader, Rocket eBooks, in 1998.

Tesla officials did not return calls made to its San Carlos headquarters.