Tesla’s first car, and the first highway-legal series-production vehicle to use lithium-ion battery cells, the Roadster proved a small California startup could sell a genuinely quick electric sports car years before any established manufacturer tried.[1] Built on a modified Lotus Elise chassis (glass and body panels came from France, chassis assembly was in England, and final assembly was in California), it sold around 2,450 units before Tesla replaced it with the Model S platform.
A single generation, sold as the base 1.5/2.0/2.5 and, from 2010, the more powerful 2.5 Sport.