The “Signature 100 Series” of his first roadster was sold out, Tesla announced just three weeks after the start of the offer in 2007. Because the interest in the completely unprecedented electric car was huge – not everyone could get one of the first 100 copies. The first Tesla Roadster ever went to Elon Musk, number 99 to a businessman in California, and was recently in a workshop in Arizona, USA. And their owner, a real roadster veteran, told an interesting story.
Tesla only rejected as a tenant
Each of the first 100 Tesla Roadsters has a special background, Pete Gruber of Gruber Motors writes in a Facebook group, and this one is no exception. He was brought to his special workshop for a repair of the drive battery. Roadster number 99 belongs to none other than the owner of the building in which Tesla once housed its first sales location in Los Angeles – and without the car and Musk’s tenacity, Tesla would never have got the lease, writes Gruber.
Initially, the original Tesla founders Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning tried to secure the building, reports Gruber. After a review of Tesla’s creditworthiness, it failed – not uncommon for young companies without a fixed income. But Tesla urgently needed or wanted a presence in Los Angeles – and had Elon Musk on board even then, if not as CEO.
Musk convinces with patents and a car
Musk also paid a visit to the owner of the building, writes the roadster expert. In order to convince the landlord, he even brought Tesla patents. The man was convinced of this, as well as Musk’s endurance and charisma. And not to forget of course a promise by Musk to not only deliver him one of the first roadsters, but exactly the 99th and also in an individual color.
The landlord got his roadster and Tesla his building – there is still a service center at the intersection between Interstate 405 and Santa Monica in Los Angeles. Gruber did not reveal whether the roadster is still in the hands of the first owner. But four years later, Tesla also slightly modified the special green paintwork for normal customers.
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