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James Bond submersible car bought by Tesla Motors CEO

HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has purchased the Lotus Esprit featured in the underwater scene in "The Spy Who Loved Me," his company said.

Musk purchased the submersible vehicle for $968,000 at an auction held last month in London, automobile blog Jalopnik reported Thursday.

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The car enthusiast and futurist apparently based the design of the first Tesla on James Bond's Lotus Esprit, The Hollywood Reporter said.

"It was amazing as a little kid in South Africa to watch James Bond in "The Spy Who Loved Me" drive his Lotus Esprit off a pier, press a button and have it transform into a submarine underwater. I was disappointed to learn that it can't actually transform," Musk said. "What I'm going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real."

The Lotus Esprit was discovered in 1989 hidden under blankets in a storage container purchased for $100 by a Long Island building contractor. The car was authenticated by the Ian Fleming Foundation.

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