Ex-Tesla employees aim to launch an electric roadster before Musk can

An automotive startup based in Britain aims to release an exclusive fully electric open sports car before Tesla can deliver its long-promised roadster model.

Pre-orders are already being taken by Longbow Motors, which was founded in 2023 by Daniel Davey and Mark Tapscott, former Tesla and Lucid employees who also gained development experience at China's BYD. Production is due to start by 2026.

Tesla fans are still waiting for a roadster from the company which was promised by chief executive Elon Musk in 2020 and again last year.

Musk went on record as saying that the new Roadster "has to come behind the things that have a more serious impact on the good of the world".

Power from an electric motor is not the problem with electrically driven sports cars but rather the weight that hampers performance.

Longbow Motors said it wants to counteract this with its concept of "Featherweight Electric Vehicles" (FEV). The lightweight sports car will be available as a roadster and an open Speedster.

Both cars should be very quick to to hit 100 km/h although no official figures or detailed specification have been released. The models are based on an aluminium platform which delivers a weight of 995 kilos for the hardtop and 895kg for the open Speedster.

"There is a need for a driver-centred, featherweight electric sports car that is affordable and accessible to those who love driving and the places it takes them. That's why we developed Longbow," said co-founder and chief executive Daniel Davey in a release.

Davey had been in charge of the launch of the Tesla Model 3 in Europe and was Lucid's first official representative beyond North America. Tapscott worked on the Lotus Elise.

The Longbow Speedster is being launched as a limited edition of 150 vehicles at a price of around €102,000. Customers can also reserve the Luminary 1st Edition and Autograph Edition models, which are limited to 10 and 25 units respectively.