Tesla Roadster to bid adieu in 2011, successor coming in 2013
Much like the replicants of Philip K Dick's fertile imagination, it seems like Tesla's Roadster will live a famous, but short life. In its pre-IPO filings to the SEC, the company has cited "tooling changes at a supplier" as the reason it will stop selling its current gen Roadster and Roadster Sport EVs after 2011. Given that all Roadsters are built at the Lotus factory in England, this probably suggests new Elise or Exige models are on the way and the manufacturing facilities are being updated accordingly. It also means Tesla will be left without any product to sell until the planned 2012 launch of the Model S sedan, while its next generation of two-door sporty supercars won't be arriving until 2013. Sigh.
