Tesla Taxi? Hybrid Cab Owner Customizes Electric Roadster

By John Voelcker

John Voelcker

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Tesla Roadster Sport taxi, from LeBlogAuto

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Anyone in the world who's ever seen a movie set in New York City can recognize a New York taxi. It's yellow with black graphics. So would you mistake this 2009 Tesla Roadster Sport for a taxi and hail it on the streets of Monaco?

Probably not, but it's a tribute to the hacks of New York just the same. The lucky purchaser, who lives near Monaco with a second home in New York, owns a fleet of cabs in New York City that consists largely of Ford Escape Hybrid crossovers.

Tesla Roadster Sport taxi, from LeBlogAuto

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Tesla Roadster Sport taxi, from LeBlogAuto

Enlarge Photo

According to Tesla spokesperson Rachel Konrad, the paint job wasn't the company's work; it was done by the customer after he took delivery of his Roadster Sport "as a fun publicity project." She would not, of course, disclose the customer's name.

These photos, taken on the French Riviera, came to our attention on LeBlogAuto, a website brimming over with car news, both stuff we knew and that peculiarly French take on all things automotive that gives France such a ... unique ... take on motorized transport.

As the author notes (roughly translated by Babelfish), "Sadly, the magnetic sign [for a taxi] would not hold on the carbon-fiber body" of a Tesla. We must admit, the challenges of turning a Tesla into a taxi hadn't even crossed our mind.

In the end, we're left with one strong impression: Those taxis we ride in must be very profitable for the fleet owners--if not necessarily for the unlucky souls who drive them in 12-hour shifts.

[LeBlogAuto]