While we’re waiting for the Roadster 2 to roll out with three electric motors and hypercar levels of performance, Jay Leno is much obliged to take us down memory lane more than a decade ago. On this throwback episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, the double-denim comedian and late-night television host is much obliged to test the 2008 Tesla Roadster alongside the one and only Elon Musk.
Before the archive footage starts rolling, you can notice Leno standing beside a 1909 Baker Electric that used to cost three times as much as the Ford Model T. Powered by alkaline batteries developed by none other than Thomas Edison, the black car at the beginning of the clip is a testament that EVs go back a longer way than many imagine them to do.
Fast-forward to the 2008 Tesla Roadster that Musk drove himself to Leno’s garage, the black-painted car is the first-ever production car according to the host as well as Tesla’s head honcho. Also known as P1 for Production Vehicle 1, the rear-wheel-drive sports car was flown from the Lotus factory in Hethel, England to the research and development facility in San Carlos, California where it received a battery pack from Thailand. Also worthy of note, it’s the chairman’s personal car.
VIN number 1 had around 500 miles on the odometer when it arrived at the garage, and if you were wondering, the Roadster Gen 1 is “about 30 percent heavier” than the Lotus Elise on which it’s based. On the road and with Leno behind the steering wheel, the archive footage is full of obvious comments like “it’s eerily quiet” and “it’s pretty cool” and “it’s environmentally safe,” all that yakety-yak.
The truth of the matter is, the first-ever Tesla is obsolete when compared to the modern-day Model S Performance and Model 3 Performance. But on the other hand, Tesla wouldn’t be here today without the Roadster Gen 1.
At a time when electric vehicles were nothing more than four-wheeled appliances, Tesla also made these cars cool, hyping the EV like no other manufacturer before or since. Codenamed Dark Star, the first generation of the Roadster was produced from 2008 to 2012. Approximately 2,500 units were sold in total.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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