The new Tesla Roadster is quite a beauty, even though it is not quite a roadster in the classic sense. It is more like a 4-seater with a removable roof. But still, hubba hubba! I mean who would not want a supercar. Especially the Founders edition for a mere $250,000. When compared to those mega-million dollar Bugattis this is downright cheap.

For those who are doubting on Tesla’s ability to make these supercars – remember way easier to make a 1000 supercars for fanboys versus making 100,000 sedans a year for hoi polloi. The doubting toms are obviously going to bring up some challenges of math and physics to make this happen, but that does not take away the fact that it is a middle-aged dream, a fantasy even.

Jeremy Clarkson has built a career on that fantasy – and we middle-aged blokes all like to think we can drive like an F1 driver. (FWIW: I do not drive, never have and perhaps never will. All hail the self-driving pods, or in my case Uber for now.)

However, the real genius of the car is not the car itself but what it does for Tesla. Even pre-orders for 1000 Founders Series cars means the company will have a whopping $250 million sitting in its cash coffers. Nice, amount of change if you can get it. Sure it is not revenue and sits on the books as debt, but it also boosts company’s cash position — and cash, more than money, is always handy.