Toyota Motor Corp. will acquire a $50 million stake in California electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc. as automakers compete to introduce less-polluting vehicles in the U.S. Tesla will also buy a Toyota joint-venture factory in California to build its Model S and other vehicles, Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said today. The companies will cooperate in developing electric cars, parts and production systems and engineering support, they said in a joint statement. The deal may help Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, compete with Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Co. in selling electric cars in the U.S., where regulations are pushing them to offer low-emission vehicles. It may also boost the Toyota City, Japan-based company’s image, battered by recent recalls, by reviving the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. joint-venture plant in Fremont, California, known as NUMMI. – From Business Week