The Tesla Roadster uses 6,800 laptop batteries – each slightly larger than a regular AA sized battery

View more pictures of the Tesla Roadster

The world’s cleanest sportscar has officially gone into production – the Lotus Elise-based Tesla Roadster.

The Tesla Roadster is the first zero-emission production sportscar which runs on electricity and returns an equivalent of 135mpg.

And the super-green Tesla Roadster, which uses the chassis of a Lotus Elise, produces 240bhp, with the 0-60mph sprint taking just 3.9 seconds – quicker than a Ferrari F430 – before running on to a top speed of 130mph.

The Tesla Roadster uses 6,800 laptop batteries – each slightly larger than a regular AA sized battery – connected together to produce enough power for its rotor engine to spin to a motorbike-rivalling 13,000rpm.

Tesla’s engineers have designed the battery pack – which makes up the bulk of the car’s weight – to last for more than 100,000 miles and for extreme weather conditions.

Underneath the sexy supercar shape is the chassis of the Lotus Elise, which means the hot new Tesla Roadster should handle excellently.

But Tesla is keen to separate the Lotus Elise from the new Tesla Roadster – Vice President Darryl Siry said after the development work, the Roadster and the Elise share just 6.5 per cent of parts.

Tesla has already sold out the limited first production run of around 400 Roadsters – with George Clooney on the waiting list – and expects to make a further 1,800 for next year.

However, the UK won’t be getting any Tesla Roadsters for the time being.
 
Prices for the Tesla Roadster start at $98,000 – or £48,000, which is less than the price of the new BMW M3 or Nissan GT-R.

View more pictures of the Tesla Roadster