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Apr 30, 2023

Three 2010 Teslas found in Chinese shipping containers

Three brand-new Tesla Roadsters have been found in shipping containers on a

Three brand-new Tesla Roadsters have been found in shipping containers on a Chinese dock, where they have been sitting since 2010. Now, the electric vehicles are being valued at $2 million altogether.

The Roadsters were discovered in the city of Quingdao, where they have been sitting unused and unbothered as their buyer never picked them up after purchasing them.

According to the Gruber Motor Company, which has vetted the $2 million bid for all three of the cars, they were initially ordered by a Chinese startup electric company that went bankrupt before it could claim them.

The Gruber Motor Company is handling the sale of the cars, which include an orange Base trim Roadster and two Roadster Sports in orange and red.

3 ‘brand-new’ Teslas found in China after 13 years now worth a record $2M https://t.co/dyvb39LhGY pic.twitter.com/FTkKYRTBQK

The Roadster was initially built by Tesla from 2008 to 2012 when the company discontinued the model.

In 2010, when the cars were purchased, the Roadster base model sold for $109,000, and the sport for $128,000 in the U.S.

The cars are currently being shipped to Dubai, where prospective buyers are going to be able to inspect them in person before making a final offer.

While the vehicles are described as being in their original factory condition, they have been sitting unused for so long that their batteries have been "bricked" and no longer work.

If the sale of $2 million goes through, it will smash the record price for a Tesla Roadster, previously set at $250,000 when Gruber Motor Company sold the 13th Roadster ever built in February 2022.

At the $2 million evaluation, the vehicles have been valued at $666,666 each.