Tesla's first car is still a lot of fun to drive

Matthew DeBord/Business Insider

Brings me back.

You never forget your first Tesla.

In 2010, right after the company had survived a near-death experience, I was offered the chance to sample what was then the carmaker's only vehicle: the original Roadster.

It's hard to overestimate the importance of this car, which sold for over $100,000, turned in blistering acceleration, and could top 200 miles on a single charge.

The Roadster changed our minds forever about what an electric car could be and launched Tesla on a road to its current $30 billion market cap and a portfolio of, by 2017, three vehicles: the Model S sedan, the Model X SUV, and the Model 3 car for the masses.

Last year, I reminisced about my first time with a Tesla to one of the company's staffers. This led to a question: Do we even have a Roadster around to check out anymore?

They found one, and I was reunited with my old friend in Los Angeles earlier this year. The occasion was the unveiling of Tesla's next car, the hotly anticipated Model 3.

Something poetic and romantic about that, I think. Read on to see what it was like.