I really hope young folks just discovering Leverage understand that in 2008 a Tesla meant basically the opposite of what it means in 2025. They were so exciting. We were so hopeful.
I was showing it to my roommate for the first time in 2023, and she was like "ooof, that aged badly".
Tags from @axlaru
Okay here’s some more context for folks:
Yes, the Tesla Roadster Sportscar was the first Tesla car. That was the whole exciting thing about Tesla: not only were they making an electric car, they were making an electric SPORTSCAR. Meaning they were making the idea of electric cars (and by extension renewable energy in general) COOL. Cool and exclusive and something rich people would want to get in on, not something for fringe eco nerds, so that then they would eventually have the funds and support to roll out electric cars that everyone could use. That’s why Tesla was cool. That’s why the joke in the show is “well it’s an electric car” — you expect something dinky, cause other electric cars were not powerful or cool— and then he rolls up with the super cool exciting Tesla sportscar.
And while it’s fascinating that Elon took over right at this time (Edit: apparently I reblogged the wrong chain, we talked about this on a different reblog) that does not mean that that perception changed instantly. People didn’t immediately know that he was bad news, the company did not immediately go to shit. That was a very gradual thing. It’s possible the showrunners were ahead of the curve and wanted to distance themselves from it, but I always assumed the reason the car only showed up once was much simpler: They were EXPENSIVE.
via @aethersea