It has been a long time coming, but the first deliveries of Tesla’s all-electric Model S sedan to customers have been completed — you’ll be seeing them more and more often around the country. Tonight also signals the kick-off of Tesla’s Supercharger network roll-out around Australia, with ten fast-charging units already up and running and more to come over the next year.
It’s all glitz and glamour tonight, with the curtains thrown off the first Australian deliveries. In a ceremony at The Star, nine Tesla Model S Signature pre-order holders were given the keys to their cars — including tech luminary Simon Hackett of Internode fame. Tesla doesn’t share any stats on the number of cars sold publicly, but there are likely a lot more waiting patiently for theirs to turn up.
Five superchargers at Tesla’s new Artarmon showroom in Sydney, and four at The Star Casino in Pyrmont, are the first to be switched on around the country — we saw a couple first-hand this morning at the showroom. More are coming, too — locations aren’t confirmed just yet, but Tesla plans for a network of chargers, with the vast majority rolled out by 2016. A nifty extra for Model S owners is free parking at The Star in order to use those chargers.
Some time throughout 2015, Tesla plans to connect Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney with a Supercharger network — we’ve been told to expect Supercharger installations roughly around 200km from each other in the predetermined travel corridors. Goulburn would be a logical first Supercharger location outside of Sydney, for example. In 2016, the company plans to connect all major cities on Australia’s east coast, all the way up to Brisbane.
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The showroom and service centre in Artarmon is also open to the public as of tomorrow morning, too, so you can head in and take a look at the cars or even order one yourself — if you have a spare $100,000 to $200,000 handy. [Tesla Motors]