First generation — code name “DarkStar”
Roadster
2008 – 2012Out of production2-door, 2-seat electric sports car
The car that started it all.
Overview
Tesla's very first car, built on a Lotus Elise-derived aluminium chassis with a hand-wound electric motor. It was the first highway-legal serial-production electric car to use lithium-ion cells, and the first production EV to break 200 miles of range.
The story
The Roadster was shown as a prototype on 19 July 2006 in Santa Monica, California, under the code name DarkStar, and Tesla opened reservations that same day. It was the car Elon Musk had bet the company on — and the car he was driving when he ran out of money in late 2008.
Because Tesla did not yet build its own factory, the cars were assembled from Lotus gliders in England and finished in California, with the electric powertrain installed by Tesla employees. The single-speed gearbox came from BorgWarner in Detroit, brakes and airbags from Siemens in Germany, and 30–40% of components from Taiwan.
Production ended in 2012 with 2,450 cars sold, and the tooling was swapped for the Model S line. More than a decade later the Roadster is still the car people point to when they explain that Tesla existed before the Model 3.
Full specifications
Powertrain
- Motor
- 3-phase AC induction, rear mid-mounted
- Power
- 248 hp (base) / 288 hp (Sport)
- Torque
- 200 lb-ft (base) / 295 lb-ft (Sport)
- Transmission
- Single-speed fixed gear, BorgWarner
- Battery
- 53 kWh lithium-ion, 6,831 cells
- Drive
- Rear-wheel drive
Performance & efficiency
- 0–60 mph
- 3.9 s standard, 3.7 s Sport
- Top speed
- 125 mph (electronically limited)
- Efficiency
- 21.7 kWh/100 mi battery-to-wheel, 88% average drivetrain efficiency
- Drag coefficient
- 0.35 – 0.36
Charging
- Onboard charger
- 16.8 kW, 110–240 V, up to 70 A
- Connector
- Tesla proprietary (pre-Supercharger)
- Full charge
- Around 3.5 hours on a 240 V / 70 A supply
Body & dimensions
- Chassis
- Extruded aluminium, Lotus Elise-derived, wheelbase stretched 2 in
- Body panels
- Carbon fibre composite, Sotira (France)
- Wheelbase
- 92.6 in
- Length / width / height
- 155.4 in / 73.7 in / 44.4 in
- Curb weight
- 2,877 lb (1,305 kg)
Production
- Built
- 2,450 cars, 2008 – 2012
- Assembly
- Hethel, England (Lotus) and Menlo Park, California
- 1,000th car
- January 2010
- Battery upgrades
- Powertrain 1.5 (2008), 2.0 (2009), 2.5 (2010), 3.0 / R80 pack (2015–16)
Records and firsts
- First highway-legal serial-production electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells
- First production electric car with more than 200 miles of range (244 mi EPA)
- Named to TIME's Best Inventions of 2008
- A 2010 Roadster covered 313 miles on a single charge in Australia — a record for a production EV at the time
- The Sport held the quickest 0–60 mph figure of any production electric car when it launched
Every version
| Version | Years | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roadster 1.5 | 2008 | $98,950 | First delivered cars; 231 mi range |
| Roadster 2.0 | 2009 | $109,000 | 244 mi range, improved 240 V charging |
| Roadster Sport 2.5 | 2010–2012 | $128,500 | Hand-wound motor, adjustable dampers, 3.7 s |
| Founder's Series | 2008 | $109,000 | The first 27 cars, numbered |
| Roadster 3.0 (R80) | 2015–2016 | ≈ $29,000 upgrade | Retrofit pack for existing owners, larger capacity, aerodynamic kit |