The San Carlos, California-based Electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc is expecting the US Department of Energy's notification on its $350-million loan application in about four months' time, and a subsequent disbursement of the loan-amount, subject to approval.

The federal loan for Tesla would come from a $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program designed for helping automakers retool their plants towards the aim of building more fuel-efficient vehicles. Tesla intends using the loan amount for the construction of its Model S four-door sedan - to be on sale in 2011
- manufacturing facility.

The company has already altered its earlier decided undeveloped San Jose site for the proposed factory, to comply with the federal loans' preference for brown field sites.

Tesla spokesperson Rachel Konrad said that none of the 75 entities that applied for the funds from the Department of Energy has got a final confirmation yet; adding that the company is "very confident" with regard to getting the funds applied for.

Furthermore, by the second half of the year, Tesla also expects a return to profitability, following its investors' December agreement of $40 million in new financing. The funds obtained from the company's existing investors, and planned for funding its routine operations, were two times more than Tesla's requirement for achieving profitability.