Toyota has bought a $50 million stake in Tesla Motors and will work with the American electric carmaker on future models. Tesla is currently the only carmaker in America to offer a road-legal electric car.

Toyota has not announced any specific electric vehicle plans. With Nissan, Ford and General Motors all working on EVs, the company that is famous for hybrids is at risk of being left behind in the green car market, so the alliance with Tesla could be a life saver for Toyota.

The Tesla Roadster, pictured above, is the first road-legal EV and sells for about $109,000. Tesla has not earned a profit in six years, and has lost about $230 million over that time period, according to Bloomberg.

The $50 million from Toyota, combined with a $465 million loan from the U.S. government, will be used to keep Tesla Motors alive and to reopen the former NUMMI plant in California, which was a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota that was closed when GM went bankrupt. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said that Tesla will create 1,000 jobs in California when the former NUMMI plant reopens.

The Tesla Model S.

The Tesla Model S sedan will be built at the former NUMMI plant, and will cost about $50,000 after tax credits when it goes on sale. The Tesla Model S will compete with the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class in that price range.

“I’ve felt an infinite possibility about Tesla’s technology,” Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Corp.’s chief executive said. Toyoda is the grandson of the company’s founder and took over Toyota recently, claiming that the Japanese automaker had lost its way and was headed for trouble. “By partnering with Tesla, my hope is that all Toyota employees will recall that ‘venture business’ spirit.”

Images via Tesla.