Tesla To Stop Production Of Its Roadster Model

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On the heels of our previous post comes this shocking news.

From Gas2.0:

Come 2011, Tesla Motors plans to stop selling its famed roadster. Why? Because no one will build it.

Deep within the Securities and Exchange Commission paperwork Tesla filed ahead of its IPO was the announcement. The two-seater–and its souped up Roadster Sport sibling–will end production next year. If there is a replacement, it won’t be available until 2013…at the earliest.

“We do not plan to sell our current generation Tesla Roadster after 2011 due to planned tooling changes at a supplier for the Tesla Roadster,” the company wrote in the filing. The Roadster is currently built by Lotus.

Tesla’s Model S is one thing keeping the Roadster on the back burner. That model hit production in 2012 using the $465 million it just secured from the Department of Energy. Essentially, Tesla will have no cars to sell and therefore no revenue coming in for a full year.

Scary since the Roadster is the car that put Tesla on the map. Hopefully nothing goes wrong with the Model S.