Let’s say you’ve got $165,000 to spend on a fun car. You could buy a pretty darn nice Porsche 911 or a range of Aston Martins, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis for that kind of money, or you could have this 2008 Tesla Roadster listed on Exotic Car Trader. The car sports delivery mileage and offers a glimpse into the automaker’s early efforts.
The white Roadster shows just 574 miles on the odometer and has its original 53-kWh battery pack. When it was new, that battery powered an electric motor with 248 horsepower and 200 pound-feet of torque, which reached the rear wheels through a single-speed transmission.
It wears the factory white paint over a tan and black interior, and it rides on the original black Tesla wheels. The Roadster also uses carbon fiber body panels and comes with a color-matched hardtop.
Tesla based the Roadster on the Lotus Elise, and the car’s look and configuration remain surprisingly close to the British automaker’s original design. The exterior shape is different, but the proportions remain, and the interior retains many of the Elise’s original touches.
The gauge cluster came from an Elise but has Tesla-calibrated dials to align with the electric motor’s performance. It also sports a gearshift lever, though it only functions for forward and reverse, since EVs don’t use traditional transmissions.
While this car’s price tag may seem extreme, it’s not significantly outside the norm for Roadster sales. There are seven examples for sale in the U.S. on Autotrader right now, ranging in price from $56,000 to this car’s $165,000 price, but none of the other vehicles on sale come with this Roadster’s mileage.  The cheapest car has 68,000 miles, and another one is listed at $149,000 with 33,000 miles.
Most EVs aren’t considered collector’s vehicles, but Tesla’s enthusiastic following has made the Roadster a hot commodity. Part of the interest could be due to its Lotus ties, but it will be interesting to see if other electric models rise to the same level on the collector’s market. Even more interesting will be seeing if Tesla actually releases a new Roadster this decade.
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