The first car Tesla ever built is still pretty great (TSLA)

Matthew DeBord/Business Insider

You never forget your first Tesla.

In 2010, right after the company had survived a near-death experience, I was offered the chance to sample what was then the carmaker's only vehicle: the original Roadster.

It's hard to overestimate the importance of this car, which sold for over $100,000, turned in blistering acceleration, and could top 200 miles on a single charge.

The Roadster changed our minds forever about what an electric car could be and launched Tesla on a road to its current $30 billion market cap and a portfolio of, by 2017, three vehicles: the Model S sedan, the Model X SUV, and the Model 3 car for the masses.

Last year, I reminisced about my first time with a Tesla to one of the company's staffers. This led to a question: Do we even have a Roadster around to check out anymore?

They found one, and I was reunited with my old friend in Los Angeles, on the eve of the Model 3 unveiling in late March.

Something poetic and romantic about that, I think. Read on to see what it was like.

We were so much younger then ... That's me in early 2010, after a spin in the Roadster Sport version 2.0.

I made a video about the fun.

Since then, I've driven every other Tesla, starting with the base Model S sedan.