3 ms·

Wasn’t the body copied from a Lotus Elise?

• lastofthemojito 3y ago
  Yep, the original Tesla Roadster was based on the Lotus Elise, but they stretched the wheelbase a couple of inches, and from a glance you can tell that the body panels were changed. There are some good comparison shots here: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/lotus-elise-vs-tesla-roadster/ https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/lotus-elise-vs-te...
  • mdaniel 3y ago
    I didn't realize there was a tracker for the launcher Roadster https://www.whereisroadster.com/ https://www.whereisroadster.com/ - I clearly misremembered that they sent it into the Sun
    • datadrivenangel 3y ago
      Takes an insane amount of energy to actually launch something into the sun.
• tibbydudeza 3y ago
  Yes the chassis (aluminum tub) was licensed - they had to make some changes for the EV bits.
• bri3d 3y ago
  The opposite, really - the chassis and basic suspension design, as well as most of the interior parts, are from the Elise. The rear sub-frame, hubs (5-lug vs 4-lug), complete drivetrain, brakes, and all body components besides the windshield are specific to the Roadster, though. The Elise itself was sold in several forms with a ton of different ICE drivetrains (Rover 4-cylinder, Toyota 4-cylinder, Toyota 6-cylinder, GM Ecotec) and is popular for these kinds of custom drivetrain builds, since it was a highly modular platform - fundamentally the Elise is an aluminum tub with a front composite crash structure glued and a rear tubular subframe bolted on.