Tesla Roadster

The Roadster at a glance: how Tesla began

Tesla unveiled the Roadster on 19 July 2006 in a hangar at Santa Monica Airport, California. The aim was to prove that an electric car could be fast, attractive and usable every day, at a time when most electric cars were small city runabouts with a short range. Series production began on 17 March 2008, and the 1,000th car was built in January 2010. Production ended in January 2012, when the contract with Lotus for 2,500 gliders ran out. The company's later growth is covered in the history of Tesla, and every model is listed in the Tesla catalogue.

Built with Lotus: chassis and assembly

Lotus built the bonded aluminium chassis at Hethel, in Norfolk, and shipped "gliders" (complete cars without a powertrain) to Tesla. Final assembly took place at Menlo Park, California, for North America and at Wymondham, near Hethel, for other markets. Although the car looks like an Elise and uses its basic layout, Tesla said that only about 7 % of the parts were shared with the Lotus. The body panels are carbon fibre, the chassis is longer, and the sills are lower to make getting in easier.

The suspension is independent at both ends, with double wishbones and an anti-roll bar. The brakes are ventilated discs with ABS, and the steering is a rack and pinion.

Electric motor, gearbox and performance

The motor is a small three-phase, four-pole AC induction unit with air cooling, mounted behind the battery and driving the rear wheels. It revs to about 13,000 rpm, according to the old 1cars text. Early cars had a two-speed gearbox from Magna, which proved unreliable; Tesla delivered them locked in second gear and, from September 2008, switched to a single-speed BorgWarner gearbox with a ratio of 8.27:1. There is no reverse gear: the motor simply turns the other way.

The torque figures differ between Tesla documents, so they are best treated as approximate. The early two-speed cars locked in second gear needed about 5.7 seconds to reach 60 mph.

Battery, charging and range

The battery, which Tesla called the Energy Storage System, sits behind the seats. It holds 6,831 cylindrical 18650 lithium-ion cells, the same size used in laptops at the time, and stores 53 kWh. The pack weighs 450 kg, about a third of the car's kerb weight. Its electronics monitor every group of cells, and a liquid system cools the pack when driving and keeps it warm when the car stands outside in winter. The EPA rated the range at 393 km (244 miles) after tests in August 2008.

From September 2015 to late 2016 Tesla offered the Roadster 3.0 upgrade for existing cars. It replaced the pack with a 70 kWh LG Chem battery and added an aero kit and low-rolling-resistance tyres. The old 1cars text puts the gain at about 31 % more energy, with a lower drag coefficient and a range of up to about 640 km.

To see how today's electric cars compare in range and battery size, browse our list of electric cars; our ranking of the most powerful convertibles shows how far open cars have moved on since.

Dimensions and weight

By our calculation the Roadster Sport carries about 6.1 kg per kW, close to many petrol sports cars of its day. Luggage space is very small, and the old 1cars text describes a cabin that is low, snug and hard to climb into.

Versions, equipment and updates

The 2010 model year brought a better interior, a more efficient motor and improved heating and air conditioning. The Roadster 2.5 of July 2010 added a new front bumper with a different grille, a rear diffuser, forged wheels, new seats, better sound insulation and an optional 7-inch touchscreen with a reversing camera. Standard equipment included two airbags, ABS and traction control, air conditioning, heated seats, electric windows, central locking, leather trim and a tyre-pressure monitor. Navigation and satellite radio were options.

Safety and recalls

The Roadster was sold as a road-legal car in the USA and Europe, but it was never crash-tested by Euro NCAP or the IIHS. In January 2008 the US safety agency NHTSA gave Tesla a temporary waiver from the advanced airbag rule. There were two recalls: in May 2009 for rear hub bolts on 345 cars, and in October 2010 for a 12-volt cable that could chafe on 439 cars.

The Top Gear dispute and the car in space

A 2008 Top Gear episode showed the Roadster apparently running out of charge on a test track. Tesla said the scene had been staged and sued the BBC for libel and malicious falsehood in March 2011. The High Court rejected the claim on 19 October 2011, and the Court of Appeal upheld the decision.

On 6 February 2018 Elon Musk's own Roadster, serial number 686, was launched into space on the first flight of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. It now travels in an orbit around the Sun that reaches beyond the orbit of Mars.

The second-generation Roadster

Tesla showed a new Roadster prototype on 16 November 2017, at the end of the Tesla Semi presentation. It is a 2+2 coupé with a removable glass roof, three motors and all-wheel drive. Tesla claimed 0–60 mph in 1.9 seconds, a top speed above 400 km/h, a 200 kWh battery, a range of 1,000 km and 10,000 Nm of torque at the wheels. Musk later promised an optional SpaceX package with cold-gas thrusters.

Production was first planned for 2020, then moved to 2023, and then delayed again. In May 2026 Tesla said the car was in testing and would be built in Texas. A reveal event planned for 1 October 2026 in Waco, Texas, was postponed because of the weather, and as of mid-October 2026 series production has not begun. Treat all its figures as targets, not confirmed specifications.

Rivals: how the Roadster compared

The Roadster matched the Porsche on power and beat it on acceleration from a standstill, but it was heavier and cost much more. Its real rival was the idea that electric cars had to be slow, and it changed that idea for good. Tesla's next car was the Model S, which took the same battery technology into a five-door saloon, followed by the Model X SUV.