The three abandoned Tesla Roadsters in China reportedly received an astounding $2 million bid, according to the company attempting to match a buyer to the cars’ sellers.
For context, a Chinese customer purchased three US-spec LHD Roadsters from the American EV giant in 2010. However, no one ever got the Roadsters out of the containers.
Now, these “automotive time capsules” are for sale, with the latest bid hitting $2 million, Gruber Motors indicated.
“So, what if you could go back in time, Tesla time that is, and buy a brand new Roadster from Tesla? Would you do it?
Here is your chance, since a time capsule has just been opened…”
Gruber Motors
Bidding
The sellers originally scheduled the bidding rounds for the three Tesla Roadsters to conclude on May 26. However, they extended the bidding to June 2 at midnight as the cars gained a significant number of bidders.
As for the $2 million bid, the person behind it placed the offer on May 30, surpassing the previous highest bid of $800,000 for the whole lot.
Gruber Motors published new photos and videos of the Tesla Roadsters to attract more bidders, which you can access here.
About the Tesla Roadsters
The three Tesla Roadsters are in the Sport variant. That said, they can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds. It represents a noticeable improvement from the regular Roadster’s ability to do so in 3.9 seconds.
Gruber Motors asserted that an R&D center for a Chinese car company bought the Roadsters in 2010. However, it afterward got bankrupt. The Tesla cars are speculated to have been purchased for reverse engineering.
Of the three Tesla Roadsters, one has Radiant Red paint. Meanwhile, the remaining two units are in the so-called “Very Orange” paint.
It is also worth noting that all of them do not display miles on the odometer. In addition, another container has several components that seem to be from a fourth car. The chassis’ location is uncertain, though.
Another issue was the car keys’ whereabouts. According to Gruber Motors, the keys must be in one of the port offices. However, the manager who held them apparently died. Nonetheless, the sellers plan to replace them if needed. They already obtain the necessary paperwork for replacement, such as the origin certificates.
The sellers will reportedly relocate the Tesla Roadsters to new sea containers to prepare them for direct shipping to the lucky bidder or Dubai. According to the company, the country is a “free zone,” without stringent requirements for viewing for potential buyers.
As of now, the unnamed sellers are spending a considerable amount on storage charges at the Chinese port where the Roadsters are currently stored. That said, it would really be a good move to finally move them out.
See Also:
- Tesla Roadster 2.0 will outperform the prototype on “basically every metric”
- 10 Best EVs arriving in the auto market before 2030
- Tesla relaunches famous referral program in Europe to boost Q1 sales
- Elon Musk explains how Tesla values “investors” on Investor Day
- World’s fastest accelerating Electric Car debuts at Hyderabad E-Motor show
As mentioned, no one has ever got the Tesla Roadsters out of their containers since 2010. Therefore, no one knows the condition or performance of the EVs now. Despite that, it is awesome how many people are interested in obtaining these Roadsters for a substantial amount.
