GALLERY

In May of 2012, the longest standard electric car journey to circumvent the globe in 80 days began, with Tesla Roadster, VIN 507.

Rafael De Mestre, owner and driver, set several world records:

🏆Winning the first EV race around the world in a STANDARD all-electric vehicle;

🏆Being the first man to drive ALONE around the world in an electric car;

🏆Making the FASTEST electric vehicle circumnavigation around the world ever (127 days);

🏆Making the LONGEST drive in a standard electric car (28,282 km).

Tesla Roadster VIN 507 became pretty famous, and a German museum in Munich, asked if they could display this travelling Roadster in their exhibition of a year.

Unexpectedly, hundreds of thousands of visitors came to the exhibition to see this historic EV, and when they asked if he would extend the display time, he agreed.  During this extension, the car was not properly charged and the main propulsion battery died.

The owner now decided to transport VIN 507 to the USA on an unmotorized sailing ship to Gruber Motor Company, for a complete rebuild, weatherizing, and resolving all deferred maintenance in both electronics and mechanical portions, to prepare this historic Tesla.  In partnership with Telsa, who generously fast tracked a replacement main battery, this historic Tesla is now ready for another trip around the world.

Rafael will be picking up his Roadster at the Phoenix, AZ Gruber Motor Company service center Monday June 26, for its next adventure driving through the United States through November, and eventually across the ocean to China, Kazakhstan, and Europe before finally concluding to Morocco, retracing the same route he drove back in 2012, promoting the upcoming 80edays 2024 edition and spreading the powerful message of sustainable transportation.

“I am excited to embark on a new chapter with my Roadster, promoting the possibilities of electric vehicles. I want to demonstrate their reliability on a global scale driving the second time with the same electric car around the world” said Rafael de Mestre, the electromobility pioneer and driver behind the original world journey.