How quickly has all this come around? Toyota bought into Tesla two months ago, yet the companies joint announcement sites that an electric version of the Rav4 is already on the road and being tested. Nobody builds a new car that quick, so we can draw some fairly accurate conclusions from the announcement. The electric Rav4 is basically going to be the Toyota chassis with the Tesla Roadster power plant and drive train in it. 

Is this a good move for Toyota? It is hard to say. The move reeks of panic on the part of the car giant. To say Toyota has had a bad few years would be a mild understatement. The brand once known for reliability is a complete disaster. It needs some good news and this move, for all the world, seems to be an effort to generate some. Shotgun marriages of this type, however, rarely produce good products and I have doubts about this one working out well.