On The Lighter Side: Tesla Roadsters Abandoned In China Get $2M Bid
Written by: Lulian Dnistran, InsideEVs
Published June 07, 2023
Remember the three brand-new Tesla Roadsters that were shipped to China in 2010 but nobody ever got them out of the containers? Well, they’re for sale, and the latest bid for the whole lot is a whopping $2 million, according to Gruber Motors, the company that is trying to help the sellers find a buyer for these automotive time capsules.
Initially, the bidding was supposed to end on May 26, but because of the high number of bidders that need to be vetted, the seller has decided to extend the bidding until June 2 at midnight.
The $2 million offer was placed on May 30 for the whole lot, throwing shade at the previous highest bid, which amounted to $800,000 for all three vehicles and was placed on May 24.
All three EVs are specced in the more sought-after Roadster Sport variant, which enables a 0-60 miles per hour sprint in 3.7 seconds, compared to the 3.9 seconds that the regular Roadster needs.
As per Gruber Motors, which specializes in repairing just about everything on Tesla’s first production vehicle, the three EVs were purchased in 2010 by an R&D center for a Chinese automotive company that subsequently went bankrupt, and the assumption is that the Teslas were bought for reverse engineering.
One of the Roadsters is painted in Radiant Red while the other two are covered in the so-called Very Orange color. All three have no miles on the odometer and, interestingly enough, there’s another container full of parts that appear to come from a fourth vehicle. However, the whereabouts of the chassis are unknown.
Another thing nobody knows is where the keys to these cars are located. They were supposed to be in one of the port offices, but when the current owners tried to locate them, they found out that the manager who held them passed away, so that’s still a mystery. However, the sellers will replace the keys if necessary, as they have all the required paperwork, including the certificates of origin.
The Roadsters will be relocated in the next few days, in preparation for shipping directly to the successful bidder or to Dubai, which is a free zone without the constraints of viewing permits required for prospective buyers that want to examine the cars before buying them.
Currently, the sellers are paying storage charges at the Chinese port where the containers are located, so it makes financial sense to move them out.
The vehicles have never been touched since they set sail from the United States in 2010, so nobody knows if the high-voltage batteries have any life left in them or even if the cars will work at all.
We thank InsideEVs for reprint permission
