Tesla Roadster
EV · Tesla
Tesla Roadster: The Original Electric Sports Car
The Roadster was Tesla's first car, the electric sports car that proved EVs could be fast and desirable, with a next-generation model long promised.
The original Tesla Roadster, produced from 2008 to 2012, was the car that launched the company. Based loosely on the Lotus Elise, it used a lithium-ion battery pack to deliver genuine sports car performance and a then-remarkable range of over 200 miles per charge, shattering perceptions of electric cars as slow and limited.
By proving that an EV could be quick, stylish, and usable, the Roadster gave Tesla the credibility and capital to develop the Model S and beyond. Only a few thousand were built, making the original a significant collector piece in automotive history.
Tesla has long teased a next-generation Roadster, promising staggering performance figures including sub-two-second acceleration. Whether or not the new car arrives as promised, the original Roadster's place as the spark of the modern EV era is secure.
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Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna rated Tesla's new Roadster 10 out of 10 for technology and presentation, and told the industry to keep dreaming. That same week, Ferrari confirmed a $560,800 US price for its own first EV, the Luce, developed with Jony Ive's LoveFrom studio.
We think the curvy 2017 Tesla Roadster concept beats the faceted wedge Tesla revealed on October 15, 2026. Critics at Hagerty and The Autopian see Lamborghini in the new shape, and the concept also had the better roof, lights, and staying power.
The new Tesla Roadster hides its headlights behind a panel that drops down when the lights come on. Tesla's designers call them pop-down headlights. They arrive 22 years after the Corvette C5 and Lotus Esprit, the last mass-produced pop-up cars sold in the US, ended production.
Tesla revealed the new Roadster on October 15, 2026, with over 1,341 hp, a claimed 0.81-second 0 to 60 run, and a version that flies. Range is about half the 2017 promise, production is set for 2028, and Tesla says it cannot guarantee delivery.