LIVE: Tesla's unveils a masterpiece: The Tesla that will change the car industry forever - Tesla CEO

The Tesla Roadster hit production in 2008 as the original electric vehicle to debut for the American automaker. It helped show that EVs could be carbon conscious and cool, helping pave the way for Tesla to develop and sell more practical and efficient vehicles.

Although it was a niche vehicle from a relatively unknown automaker at the time, The Roadster emerged as the first highway legal serial production BEV to use lithium-ion batteries. It was also the first fully-electric production vehicle to travel over 200 miles on a single charge.

Tesla ended up selling close to 2,500 first-generation Roadsters over the course of the four years it was in production. Small potatoes by today’s Tesla standards, but this Roadster remains the EV that put Tesla on the map and kicked in the door of an industry still very much focused on internal combustion engines. It remains a collector’s item for many as the original Tesla.

Used Roadsters remain coveted EVs and are still available on the used car market.

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