Revenge 240
went down in history alongside Henry Ford for doing this
thing.”^196
Other customers had only minor complaints. The lead
singer in the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anthony
Kiedis, said the only problem with his Roadster was that he
now never drove his Porsche.^59 “To be honest, the only real
complaint I have about the Roadster is that its windshield is
perpetually filthy,” the former interim CEO, Michael Marks,
said. “Think about it: If you don’t stop at a gas station, when
would you clean your car’s windshield?”^242
One customer who wasn’t satisfied with the Roadster
was Arnold Schwarzenegger. The reason wasn’t because he
didn’t like the car’s performance, but because his body was
simply too big to be able to drive the small Roadster. He
was after all used to driving the former military vehicle
Hummer. Instead, Schwarzenegger decided to order the
larger Model S.^59
It’s unclear what George Clooney thought about his
Roadster #8. He wore a Tesla cap so he didn’t dislike
the company, but he decided to auction off his car for
charity.^216
Tesla manufactured a total of 2 500 Roadster, and the
demand for Model S looked good. “The day they started
selling the Model S, we walked into the Menlo Park store at
10 AM with $40 000 cash in my wife’s purse,” one customer
said. “It was in large packs of $100 bills. That got their
attention.”^228 The reservations poured in. “Not bad!” Elon
said. “Not bad for the worst automotive environment since
the Great Depression, all the stories about Tesla supposedly