When the first-generation Tesla Roadster hit the market in 2008, it immediately caught plenty of attention. It was the world's first road-legal all-electric vehicle to utilize a lithium-ion battery pack. Although it could only go 200 miles on a single charge, a range that's no longer competitive by today's standards, the original Roadster represented the start of the battery-electric era and put Tesla the automaker on the world stage. However, it wasn't until the arrival of the Tesla Model S a few years later that competing brands finally begin to take the California start-up seriously.
An all-new, Bugatti-smashing Tesla Roadster will arrive eventually. But for now, there are plenty of first-gen Roadsters still around, all 2,500 examples of which were built from 2008 until 2011.
Of course, some are more special than others. One example is (or was) Elon Musk's personal Roadster, which was fitted inside a SpaceX rocket and blasted off into space on a path towards Mars. The sun's radiation has mostly destroyed it by now. And then there's this Roadster, the final one ever built.
VIN 2500 is currently up for sale on Swiss website CarForYou with an asking price of - wait for it - $1.5 million, or 1.39 million Swiss francs. It has only 124 miles on its odometer and has never been registered. Even the original covering for the steering wheel and hand brake remains in place. Because it was the last of its kind, Tesla equipped it with the full carbon interior package and a carbon diffuser.
The exterior color, sparkling white, is also supposedly unique, as is the white and black interior trim. The main team at Tesla at the time even signed its battery. It has been kept in storage for the past few years to ensure its like-new quality.
But is it really worth $1.5 million? Debatable.
More than likely, the seller is simply testing the market to gauge for appreciation. And if someone buys it right now, all the better. If not, simply sit back and wait a few more years. Chances are, first-gen Tesla Roadsters will become highly sought after collectors' items and those with some sort of special status or a famous previous owner will definitely be worth more.