[Ravl]

The Roadster was developed by Tesla Motors with design help from Lotus Cars in certain areas. Lotus supplied the basic chassis development technology from its Lotus Elise, with which the Tesla engineers designed a new chassis. Barney Hatt at Lotus's design studio developed the styling with input from Tesla. Tesla's designers chose to construct the body panels using resin transfer molded carbon fiber composite to minimize weight; this choice makes the Roadster one of the least expensive cars with an entirely carbon fiber skin.