The Tesla Roadster was the first production vehicle to use lithium-ion batteries. Tesla built the two-seat sports car on a modified Lotus Elise platform and began deliveries in 2008.
Its battery pack contained thousands of small lithium-ion cells, a format unusual for production cars at the time. Lithium-ion chemistry offered substantially higher energy density than the lead-acid and nickel-metal hydride batteries then common in electric vehicles.
The Roadster used a 53 kWh battery pack and had an advertised range of about 245 miles under the original testing cycle. Tesla’s approach helped demonstrate that a battery-electric car could offer sports-car performance rather than only short urban trips.
The Roadster is sometimes confused with the later Tesla Model S, which made electric vehicles more practical for families. The Roadster was much smaller and was produced in limited numbers, but it established Tesla’s early technology and brand identity.