Tesla begins delivering the Roadster
Tesla's first production car, an electric sports car, reached customers in early 2008.
Archive entry. This article looks back at an event from February 2008. It was drafted with AI assistance from public records and is being fact-checked. See our About page.
Tesla's first production vehicle, the Roadster, began reaching customers in early 2008. It was an all-electric two-seat sports car, built with a body based on the Lotus Elise and powered by lithium-ion batteries.
The car could travel more than 200 miles on a charge and accelerated quickly, which challenged the idea that electric cars had to be slow.
The company sold around 2,400 Roadsters before production ended. Later in 2008, Elon Musk became CEO. The Roadster's profits and lessons paid for the development of the Model S.
