2008 Tesla Roadster #480: The Car That Proved Electric Could Be Exciting

In 2008, a small California company called Tesla Motors released its first car, and it changed how the world thought about electric vehicles. Our 2008 Tesla Roadster, number 480, is a piece of that turning point. It's known as "The Simo," in honor of its original owner.

A New Kind of Electric Car

Before the Roadster, most electric cars were small, slow, and built for short trips. Tesla set out to prove an electric car could be fast, fun, and capable of real range. Built on a lightweight sports car chassis from Lotus, the Roadster was the first production highway car to run on lithium-ion battery cells, the same kind of cells found in laptops and phones.

By the Numbers

• Battery: 53 kWh lithium-ion pack

• Range: about 220 miles on a charge

• Production: roughly 2,450 Roadsters were built from 2008 to 2012

Why It Matters

The Roadster's success helped Tesla grow into a major automaker and pushed the whole auto industry to take electric cars seriously. Its story also connects to another piece of our collection: an electric pusher trailer built by JB Straubel, who later became Tesla's longtime chief technology officer.

In Memory of Greg "Simo" Simon

This Roadster carries the nickname of its original owner, Greg "Simo" Simon of Mill Valley, California. Greg and his wife, Heidi, were electric vehicle pioneers long before EVs were common. In 2002, they installed a solar array on their home to power two early Toyota RAV4 EVs, years before the Roadster arrived.

Greg was also well known in the sports world as a beloved lacrosse official and a co-founder of ZebraWear, a lacrosse officiating gear company. After Greg passed away in October 2010, Heidi preserved the car and later donated it to the Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation in his memory. Today it proudly carries his nickname, "The Simo."

See It at the Museum

Plan a visit to see the Roadster and our collection of 125+ historic electric vehicles in Kingman, Arizona, and follow our progress toward the new Route 66 Electric Vehicle Museum at 519 E. Beale St., opening in 2027.