Tesla produced the Roadster, the first production car using lithium-ion battery cells.
Tesla’s Roadster was based on the Lotus Elise and entered production in 2008. It used thousands of small lithium-ion cells, a battery approach that differed from the larger-format cells used by many earlier electric vehicles. The Roadster demonstrated that an electric sports car could offer substantial performance and helped establish Tesla’s technology and brand.
Tesla later expanded its range with the Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y. Its market value has been influenced not only by vehicle sales but also by expectations about battery technology, charging networks, software, and autonomous-driving systems. The Roadster was not the first electric vehicle in history; electric cars existed in the nineteenth century. Its distinction concerns production use of lithium-ion battery cells.