BaT member aarossig has been living his best EV life with this 2008 Tesla Roadster R80 3.0 that he won from its original owner, Mimibird, in an August 2025 BaT auction:

My patience for this car runs deep. I first fell for the Tesla Roadster when it was announced back in 2006. At the time, I was a high school kid working at a campground, getting around in a 48V electric golf cart. I remember thinking to myself, “Wouldn’t it be great if I didn’t have to put gas in my car?” Then the Roadster launched. The specs, range, performance, and styling completely sold me on the idea. Unfortunately, my $11.50/hour salary did not!

I first spotted a Tesla Roadster at a charging spot in California back in 2014, and snapped the photo above. It was both the first EV and the first Tesla Roadster I had ever seen. Since then, I had kept my eye on the market, waiting for the perfect car. I didn’t want a museum piece with mileage so low that I would be afraid to enjoy it, but the mileage also couldn’t be so high that the car would be worn out. When this Thunder Gray 2008 Roadster popped up on BaT last August, complete with the R80 3.0 battery upgrade, I knew it was time.

I sent the car straight to the experts at Gruber Motor Company in Arizona for a comprehensive mechanical and electrical overhaul. Over a month and a half, they refreshed the brakes and suspension and replaced the tires. We refreshed the electronics by replacing the capacitors and thermal insulators, and addressed all the wear-and-tear items. My wife and I went to Arizona to pick it up. We were lucky enough to meet Pete Gruber in person and tour his shop.

Thwn Gruber finished, the car was running perfectly. It still does zero to 60 right around 4 seconds, and keeps up with basically anything on the road, which is incredibly impressive when you compare it to its contemporaries from 2008.

I have been daily driving an electric car since 2016, when I bought my first CPO Tesla Model S. I even crossed into Canada back in 2017 before the Supercharger network was fully built out. I am no stranger to EV road trips. Naturally, our first real adventure in the Roadster was a trip from the San Francisco Bay Area up to Lake Tahoe.

Taking a rear-wheel-drive electric sports car through the mountains was an absolute blast. We packed our duffel bags into the compact trunk and headed out. The Roadster was a remarkably efficient highway cruiser, sipping around 220 to 230 Wh/mile. As we climbed past Placerville, up toward 8,000 feet, the temperatures dropped into the single digits (Celsius), and we found ourselves driving along snowy shoulders. The car handled the elements beautifully.

We eventually reached Heavenly Ski Resort and found a 70-amp AC charger, which filled the upgraded 80 kWh pack in under six hours. We had an amazing weekend, enjoying the quiet shoulder-season vibe of the mountains. On the way back, we took Highway 88, cruising past the snowpack. Because the drive home was mostly downhill, gravity became our best friend. The car eventually maxed out its range estimate display at 999 miles!

I want to extend a huge thanks to BaT for connecting me with this incredible machine, Gruber Motors for their dedication to servicing these vehicles, and an even bigger thanks to my wife for putting up with (and occasionally enjoying) my EV road-tripping hobby. I am thrilled to finally be the steward of this dream car for many years to come.