Tesla bolster Sydney-Melbourne supercharger network

TESLA owners have celebrated the addition of more supercharger spots between Sydney and Melbourne by taking part in a trans-state rally event in Model S sedans.

Six new supercharger bays have been unveiled just outside the town of Gundagai, New South Wales, which is almost directly in the middle of the journey between Sydney and Melbourne.

Twelve cars left from Sydney and eight departed from Melbourne, meeting at Gundagai for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The bays complement an eight-berth supercharger in Goulburn and another six-berth unit in Wodonga, Victoria. The company said that this finalises its charger array between the two cities, although it won’t rule out adding more should the need arise.

“We have a priority plan to connect major cities,” said Telsa’s local marketing and communications manager Heath Walker. “However, there may be some locations that wish to have a supercharger, or we may identify locations based on volume sold in that area, that we will then investigate.”The Gundagai supercharger stop is located 8km south of the township, in a small reserve that is also the home of the Dog on the Tuckerbox statue, erected in 1932 to commemorate the bullock trade.

“The locations are chosen on where is best for travel and convenience to our owners,” said Mr Walker. “Once the best locations are targeted, discussions and an agreement is held with the landlord. These are set up at Tesla’s cost to date.”The charging stations run at a maximum of 120 volts, and can add 270km of range to the car in 30 minutes.

Eighty per cent of battery capacity can be added in 40 minutes, but topping it off will take an hour and fifteen minutes, as the charge must be slowed to safely top off the battery.

There is no cost to Tesla owners to use the chargers, but an electronic ‘handshake’ between charger and vehicle means that only Tesla vehicles can use the facility.