The day that I gave the founder of Tesla a ride in my Lotus Elise in return for a ride in his T-Zero

[Adrian Cockcroft]

I wrote up this story about how I was a very small part of helping Tesla pick the Lotus Elise as a partner for building the Roadster.

The day that I gave the founder of Tesla a ride in my Lotus Elise in return for a ride in his…

I've also uploaded a slide deck pdf that I got at the time by attending an EAASV meeting in 2003, where AC Propulsion talked about the T-Zero in much more detail.

 

[RichardL]

Thanks Adrian - you and I met at Rob Dietsch's shop when he had the original donor Elise that Tesla used. I too am English, I too had an Elise (a 2005 though, not the original). I too moved on to a variety of Tesla's. Unfortunately I sold the Elise, which I regret.

Thanks for this memory - those early days in that area was pretty amazing. I used to ride along Canada road, where Tesla used to give test drives of the Roadster, so I saw many of them.

 

[Matteni]

What an amazing story and a beautiful car you have there.

I have a 2008 same Twilight Blue and it is the most fun car on the street I have owned.

 

[pwwojcik]

Both the write-up and the presentation are fantastic. Thank you for sharing. I came late to the roadster party, picking up a 2008 in 2018 but I LOVE it. I also have a 2017 Model S. My wife will tell you that the Model S is mine and the roadster is hers....

 

[slcasner]

Nice writeup, Adrian! I was unaware of that story.

I, too, played a small role in the forming of Tesla Motors. Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning and I all worked at Packet Design before Martin and Marc left to found Tesla. Before they left I gave Martin a ride in my GM EV1 in the last week or two before I had to give it back to GM at the end of the lease. We also talked about his spreadsheet analyzing all the candidate methods of powering transportation that led to the conclusion that the battery EV was superior. He mentioned that analysis in the CNBC video.

I introduced Martin to Tom Gage, then president of AC Propulsion, via email and in a meetup with the three of us at Tom's house just around the block from my home. That blossomed into Martin's investment in AC Propulsion and the development of the Li-ion battery pack for the tzero that Martin was driving in Adrian's story.

 

[Eddiem5]

Hey Adrian,

Any chance you worked at Sun in the early 90's and are originally from England?

-ed-

 

[zeke703]

When I saw your name I was like "uhh, why am I getting computer-related posts on my Tesla forum trending posts email?" Then I realized that for some reason my mind had just automatically gone into "Sun Performance and Tuning" mode, which I used extensively way back in the day. Thanks for writing that book!!

 

[gigawatt1010]

Amazing story! Thanks for sharing. What a time that must’ve been.

 

[joehuber]

I gave Martin a ride in my GM EV1

Steve, thanks for giving me a ride in your EV1 and commenting on how it was powered by your rooftop solar. That made a lasting impression and later motivated me to get a Model S and rooftop solar too.

Your thoughts also gave me the idea for my license plate SUN 2 DRV.

So thanks, you've made a difference.

 

[Adrian Cockcroft]

Hey Adrian,

Any chance you worked at Sun in the early 90's and are originally from England?

-ed-

Yes, that's me.

 

[TEG]

Tesla’s Little-Known Prehistory

Tesla’s roots go all the way to Brighton, Michigan, if you really stretch them.

www.autoweek.com

 

[Mark77a]

Yes, that's me.

In which as you might know an old friend, Simon Culmer (we Brits get about )

 

[tomsla]

Excellent write up!

I was able to compare the Tesla Roadster & 2006 Elise back to back on track in 2008. Very interesting comparison. The Roadster weighed ~700 lbs more. We could feel all of the weight when driving the Elise. And of course the torque was significantly greater in the Roadster. Doorsills were awkwardly different.

I expect you will hear news of a Ferrari & Tesla collaboration for a 2025 release soon - hopefully we can do a comparison to the F-car chassis which it will be based upon...

Thank you, Mr. Elkann!

Ferrari Owner Elkann Says Energy Transition Shakeup Could Create a New Tesla

John Elkann, the scion of Italy’s Agnelli clan, sees potential for a “new Tesla” to emerge from the current wave of energy transition at a time his family’s Exor NV holding is investing in startups, including some focused on cleaner sources.

www.bloomberg.com

Perhaps this is why we haven't heard any news about the Roadster in a while.

I expect the same outcome as the 2008 shootout.