LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- High-end electric-car company Tesla Motors filed for an initial public offering Friday, seeking $100 million in the public-financing arena as conventional auto makers are reeling from anemic sales and product recalls.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but did not indicate in the filing when those shares would be sold on the public markets, nor what the initial price would be. Company executives could not be immediately reached for comment.

If successful, the IPO could help usher in a new era for the auto industry, which is steadily moving toward cleaner-burning engines. The IPO is expected to be one of the most high-profile offerings in some time, and is the first by a U.S. automaker since Ford Motor Co. F, +0.90% entered the public markets in 1956.

Whether Tesla can take advantage and shift public tastes more toward zero-emission cars is unclear. But the timing of the IPO could prove to be shrewd.

"We believe incumbent automobile manufacturers are at a crossroads and face significant industry-wide challenges," Tesla said in its filing, adding that "the legacy investments made by incumbent automobile manufacturers in manufacturing and technology related to the internal combustion engine have to date inhibited rapid innovation in alternative-fuel powertrain technologies."

While Ford has been prospering of late, rivals General Motors and Chrysler have been suffering from downtrodden sales, and were taken over by the federal government last year. Meanwhile, top foreign producer Toyota Motor Corp. TM, -1.34% is having to recall millions of its automobiles around the globe due to a problem with sticking accelerator pedals.

The Tesla Model S. NAIAS

Tesla first started selling its $100,000 all-electric sports car, the Roadster, in 2008 and followed that up last year with the Roadster 2. The company claims in its IPO filing that the car has a range of 236 miles on a single charge, and says it has sold 937 of the vehicles in 18 countries.

It is designing a sedan designed for family use, the Model S, which would run for $49,900 after a $7,500 federal tax credit, the company's IPO said. The sedan would have a range of 160 to 300 miles on a single charge.

In addition, Tesla is negotiating with Daimler AG DAI, +0.72% to provide its electric powertrain and battery technology for Daimler's Smart fortwo car. One thousand Tesla battery packs and chargers are being used in a trial with Smart fortwo cars in five European cities.

Tesla said it has taken out a $465 million long-term loan with the Energy Department under its advanced-vehicles manufacturing program to build a facility that will manufacture the Model S. The company added that it has been given up to $31 million under similar California state programs.

In the filing, Tesla indicated its revenue will decrease substantially before the Model S is rolled out -- expected to be sometime in 2012. That is because Tesla will cease selling its roadsters in 2011 and won't resume production on a new model until at least 2013.