San Carlos (CA) – Tesla confirmed that it will begin production of its $100,000 electric roadster this Spring.

Tesla Motors announced that it has received all regulatory approvals to import the first production Tesla roadster, code-named P1, for sale. While P1 will immediately be given to company chairman Elon Musk, an estimated 600 customers who have signed pre-orders for the car will have to patient for several more months: Series production of the car is scheduled to begin on March 17 of this year.

Tesla expects to be delivering about 40 cars per week, once the production is in full swing in late 2008. However, the initial Tesla roadster will deviate from the promised performance spec of a 0-60 mph acceleration capability of under 4 seconds. Edmunds.com reports that the first roadsters will have a “reduced performance spec” as the originally planned transmission will not be ready in March. The one-speed transmission for the first roadsters will deliver an estimated 0-60 mph acceleration of 5.7 seconds.

Tesla promises to retrofit all initial roadsters once the new transmission becomes available. It remained unclear whether the cars will deliver the previously outlined 125 mph top speed and a range of between 170 and 270 miles. The battery itself has not been changed and is still said to support a 3.5 hour full recharge cycle.

According to Tesla, the 2008 production of the roadster has been sold for prices between $98,000 and $107,000. Buyers ordering the car now will be entered into the 2009 waiting list for a fee of “$5000 wait list payment”. Pricing for the 2009 model has not been released.

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