Tesla continues here until 2012

…despite being served a death notice in the USA.

The Tesla Roadster is officially headed for the history books but the company says it will continue to deliver cars in Australia - priced from $206,188 - until the end of 2012.

Ten Roadsters have been sold here since the start of full-scale operations at the beginning of the year and following a massive road trip with a car that ranged almost the full length of the East coast.

"Things have really picked up since the long-distance tour. We were able to connect with a lot of people who could not make it to Sydney. We're ahead of where California expected, at least on the order intake," says Jay McCormack, national sales and marketing manager for Tesla.

"We've sold 10 cars since January. We've even sold our first car into Western Australia. The owner flew over, drove the car for an hour and fell in love."

Tesla is closing the book on the Roadster as it moves its focus to the upcoming Model S, described by the company as its first premium sedan.

"We're already pushing 50 reservations for the Model S in Australia. Model S for us in Australia is 12 months after it begins in the United States. It's always going to be that way," says McCormack, pointing to a 2013 showroom date. "Price positioning will be in the luxury segement alongside an E-Class Benz or 5- Series BMW, depending on which of the three battery packs are chosen."

He says it's too early for exact pricing or specifications but says the Model S will have a variety of drive packages to customise the performance and range to owner requirements. McCormack says Tesla fans should not worry about the news on the Roadster, as it is running to the brand's original plan.

"The Roadster was always intended to be a limited-production vehicle, created with the goal to attract the world's attention to electric cars. "

Tesla launched the Roadster with very specific goals, all of which have been accomplished.

"This includes proving that electric vehicles can outperform the best conventional supercars, demonstrating the range and practicality of EVs, and to motivate the rest of the car industry to launch their own EV programs." Roadster deliveries have now topped 1650 cars in 30 countries and McCormack says they have been driven a collective total of more than 18 million k ilometres.

"The Roadster is officially a piece of history. When people look back at the electric transportation revolution, the Roadster will be remembered as the car that started it all," he says.