Once considered the poster child for the green car movement in Silicon Valley, Tesla Motors has now told customers they must pay more or risking losing the eagerly anticipated Tesla Roadster.
The Roadster, seen as one of the most exciting electric car innovations of the decade, has struggled in recent times as Tesla reels from the effects of the global economic crisis. According to reports prices have now been raised on a number of options on the vehicle and an unknown number of Tesla reservation holders have been contacted with the news that the deposits of up to $50,000, which were initially supposed to guarantee the vehicles, will now no longer hold the rides for them.
Buyers with deposits in place must now pay more for the vehicles they had already ordered with the standard feature set for a Roadster increased by $6,700.
Among the options that have increased on the Roadster is a high performance charger that allows the batteries to be recharged in around 3.5hours. Its price has now increased to $3,000. Meanwhile, a set of alloy wheels now costs $2,300 to upgrade.
Reports suggest the company needs the money to become profitable at a faster rate – despite the fact that orders were supposed to lock vehicles for production. There has been no news yet of any price increases for the Roadster Sport model.
