If any of the automotive executives who’d travelled to Pebble Beach in 2006 for the reveal of the Tesla Roadster had suggested that in 10 years’ time, the company would be one of the most important in the market, they’d have been laughed at. In a personal blog entry, Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard described the pleasure to be in Pebble Beach and the reactions to the Roadster. “At least 22 people said they came to Pebble Beach specifically to see the Tesla Roadster,” the electric entrepreneur rejoiced, “some from as far away as North Carolina.” A decade later, Tesla’s models have become dominant in their markets, and further range explansion is planned. And there’s life in the ‘old’ Tesla Roadster yet – as one of the most important automobiles in modern history, could the little sports car become seriously collectable? We wonder what the very first prototype would fetch at auction? 

Photo: Tesla