Report: Tesla Roadster Coming To Australia

WITH ITS FIRST UK dealership opening late last month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk's announcement that the 2011 Tesla Roadster will be available in right-hand-drive comes as little surprise.

Speaking with the press recently, Musk said that, aside from the UK, Tesla considers other right-hand-drive countries such as Japan, India and Australia as significant markets for the electric car manufacturer.

Musk said that the cost of converting the Roadster to right-hand-drive were not prohibitive (thanks to an electric drivetrain less complicated than that of a traditional combustion-engined car), and that the 2011 range would include a Sports version developing more power than the current Roadster.

The Roadster's Lotus Elise origins - originally a right-hand-drive car itself - should also make the conversion easier.

For now, there is but one Tesla Roadster on Australian roads, owned by internet service provider Internode CEO Simon Hackett.