Tesla has opened up everything from owner's manuals to circuitry and connectors for the original Roadster, which was the automaker's first project fifteen years ago in 2008.
The vehicle was essentially a fundraiser for Tesla as it fought to keep its doors open and disrupt the passenger car industry. It nearly bankrupted the company, but now everything developed for Tesla's first EV project is available for anyone to see.
The Tesla Roadster is a battery-electric sports car based on the Lotus Elise chassis, produced by Tesla Motors (now Tesla, Inc.) from 2008 to 2012. The Roadster was the first highway-legal, production all-electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells, and the first production all-electric car to travel more than 244 miles (393 km) on a single charge.
Tesla has sold approximately 2,450 Roadsters in over 30 countries, with most of the last Roadsters sold in Europe and Asia in the fourth quarter of 2012. Tesla began producing right-hand drive Roadsters in early 2010.
According to the U.S. EPA, the Roadster can travel 244 miles (393 km) on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery pack. The vehicle can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in 3.7 or 3.9 seconds, depending on the model. It has a top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h).
In December 2017, Elon Musk announced that his personal Tesla Roadster would be launched into space as a dummy payload on the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The launch on February 6, 2018, was successful; the vehicle was placed in a heliocentric orbit, taking it beyond the orbital path of Mars around the Sun.
Source: Elon Musk
