How many Tesla Roadsters (first generation) were produced?

About 2,450 first-generation Tesla Roadsters were produced. Tesla sold these cars worldwide between 2008 and 2012, making the Roadster a very limited production model compared with later Tesla vehicles.

The Roadster used a chassis supplied by Lotus and was based on the Lotus Elise. Tesla installed its own electric powertrain, including a lithium-ion battery pack, motor, power electronics, and single-speed gearbox. It was the first highway-legal serial-production car to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production electric car advertised with more than 200 miles of range.

Production was constrained partly by Tesla’s contract for 2,500 Lotus “gliders”—partly assembled cars without Tesla’s electric powertrain. Tesla ended Roadster production in January 2012 after that supply ran out. The final production run included 15 Final Edition cars.

The figure is often confused with the 2,500 gliders ordered from Lotus, but approximately 2,450 is the commonly cited number of completed Roadsters sold. It is also distinct from the second-generation Roadster, which Tesla announced much later but did not enter regular production.