It has been revealed these 3 Tesla Roadsters were purchased by a Chinese carmaker, perhaps to reverse engineer them
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by Brad Anderson
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A raft of new details about the three first-generation Tesla Roadsters found abandoned in shipping containers in China have emerged and they reveal some very interesting facts.
An online auction for the trio was opened in early May and has already attracted plenty of interest, so much so that a high bid of $2 million was placed for all three on May 30. At first, it was thought that one of the Roadsters was a base model while the two others were Sport variants but it has since been revealed that all three are Sport models.
As of May 24, the seller, Gruber Motors, also discovered that a large number of parts were found in the shipping containers. Included among these parts are 4 wheels and tires, headlight assemblies, lots of small pieces of trim, and adding to the intrigue is that many of these parts reference VIN 1185. The Tesla Roadster with VIN 1185 has not been located and is thought to have been part of this shipment, leading to a suggestion that it may have been destined to be assembled in China. The mystery isn’t completely solved, however, as the chassis for VIN 1185 has not been found.
Read: Trio Of Brand-New Tesla Roadsters Found Abandoned In A Shipping Container After 10 Years
Recently discovered shipping information for the three Tesla Roadsters has also revealed that they were purchased by a research and development center for an unnamed Chinese car manufacturer that went bankrupt. It is believed that this company purchased the trio for reverse engineering and planned to disassemble them.
One slight nuisance with the trio is that the keys for them are missing. The keys had been held by the manager at the port office but he has since passed away and they cannot be found. As such, the seller will replace the keys if necessary.
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The auction was originally scheduled to end on May 26 but has been extended to June 2. As of May 30, the highest bid for all three stood at $2 million. The cars will be moved into new shipping containers in the coming days and will be shipped either directly to the winning bidder or to Dubai, where regulations do not require viewing permits to show them to prospective buyers.
