Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in 2011 that a second-generation Roadster—then known as the Model R—would enter production for 2014. The timeline for the next Roadster was later updated to 2020 when a prototype was shown off in 2017. When it didn’t show up in 2020, Musk said it was 12 months away. In 2021 production was delayed to 2022 and then 2023. A year ago the Roadster was pushed off to 2024, and just two months ago was further delayed to 2025. It’s not coming, bro. Just buy this one instead.
The original Tesla Roadster, produced from 2008 to 2011, was the shot in the arm that the electric car industry needed. Tesla Motors, as it was then known, worked with Lotus to develop an electric sports car using an elongated Elise chassis. With a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds, almost 250 miles of range, and up to 288 horsepower, this was a tremendously impressive sports car for the time. There hasn’t really been a solid attempt at an electric sports car since, and certainly nothing like it existed before. It’s easy to see why Tesla was an impressive prospect back then.
Over the course of its four years of production, the Tesla delivered around 2,450 Roadsters to customers in dozens of countries around the world. The original price of the Roadster was a nice round $98,000. Considering the equipment in question, that seems like an absolute bargain today. The car was a triumph and won all kinds of awards as a result.
These days, given the unlikely longevity and extreme success of Tesla, the original Roadster is practically a collector piece. This gorgeous blue example is up for bidding on Bring A Trailer right now, and with just 24,000 miles on the odometer, this thing is still a spring chicken. There’s no way you’re getting a new Roadster any time soon, so buy this old Roadster.