We told you earlier this month that three 2010 Tesla Roadsters with no miles had been found. Thirteen years after they were first made, these cars are likely the last brand-new, fully finished first-generation Roadsters to be sold. Why weren’t they sent, though? How did they also get to China? Gruber Motors, which set up the sale, did some research to find out the truth. The three Roadsters were found to have been taken apart by an early Tesla competitor. Ten years ago, they were used as test dummies in the global race to make electric vehicles. Now, someone has offered $2 million to buy them so they can add them to their collection. Gruber Motors says information about the first package that helped figure out where the Roadsters are now had recently become public. According to the papers, the cars were going to a research and development centre for a “new” Chinese automaker. Before the cars could be sent out, the business went out. In an appendix to its first auction listing, Gruber Motors said, “The original buyer was a research and development centre for a Chinese auto company that later went bankrupt. It is assumed that these were bought to be taken apart using reverse engineering.” After all, the Tesla Roadster was a cutting-edge EV in 2010, long before the Model S, and it would have been a massive asset to a young EV business. But that’s not all! There’s even more to the mystery. Later, the first package was for four 2010 Tesla Roadsters with VINs 1107, 1120, 1146, and 1185, not three. At this auction, only the first three are being sold. VIN 1185, the fourth car, is not there. The frame is the main thing that needs to be added. Gruber Motors found many parts linked to VIN 1185 in a later shipment container. These parts include wheels and tires, a door assembly, headlamp assemblies, body pieces, trim elements, and more. The shop has different opinions about whether or not 1185 was meant to be put together in China. If it was, though, where is the original chassis? Still, a lot of high-priced buyers have been drawn in by how rare the cars are and how mysterious they are. The three Roadsters were bid on for $2 million more than Hagerty’s estimate of $151,000 for a Roadster Sport in “concours condition.” But these cars are much more important because they are part of history and look like time capsules.
