By 2008, Tesla had brought the Roadster to market, which became the first highway-legal all-electric production car, but its production problems meant it cost $120,000 to make each one while selling for less than $80,000.

“The claim is correct that Tesla began delivering the Roadster in 2008 and that it was the first highway-legal, series-production all-electric car of the modern era. However, the financial figures are inaccurate. According to a 2009 blog post by Elon Musk, initial production costs were as high as $140,000 per vehicle, not $120,000. The selling price was also higher than stated, starting at $98,000 in 2008 and rising to $109,000 the following year, not "less than $80,000." Context: While the specific numbers in the claim are incorrect, the core assertion is true: early production of the Roadster was plagued by problems that caused the cost to build each car to be significantly higher than its selling price, contributing to Tesla's financial instability at the time.”