Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said the burgundy-red Roadster 2.5 model, the first in Japan, had been tuned "just like my personal car", and the gift to Toyota's Akio Toyoda was to honour their relationship.
In a hand-over at Tesla's showroom in Tokyo -- its first in Asia -- Toyoda said he was thrilled to be the first owner in Japan of the Roadster 2.5 model, whose licence plate number of 520 represents the date of their partnership agreement in May.
Toyota said early last year that it would begin selling a small battery-run electric car in the United States, Japan and Europe by 2012.
The first prototype from the joint development, an electric RAV4 based on Toyota's popular SUV.
The Japanese electronics conglomerate also recently invested $30 million in Tesla, which it supplies with the batteries for the Roadster
