This electric car has a Bott more range
GULARGAMBONE local Philip Bott dropped into the Tesla Supercharger this week saying he’s pleased with his Model 3 Long Range, although you have to plan ahead when driving an electric car around the bush.
“I just work on a daily range of 400 kilometres but out in regional areas, while there’s still not enough charging places around, I have to be, not anxious, but I have to be mindful of charging – the range isn’t the problem, the problem is places to charge,” he told Dubbo Photo News.
“The NRMA has been very proactive and generous about installing chargers in the country towns which is going to be a great boost to tourism as things develop.
“Tesla only has a limited number of super-chargers, which is great, and along the coast is fine, but inland they’re still pretty thin on the ground.”
He’s not pleased the luxury car tax hits the Longe Range Tesla model, saying all he wanted was the range with the bigger battery, not all the luxury features which knocked it up into the higher-taxed bracket.
While he’s hoping there’ll be more and more chargers coming online in regional areas, he says the chargers that are out there work very well.
“I barely had time to go inside (Western Plains Cultural Centre) and come back and the car was charged. These provide up to 120 kilowatts in power. You don’t worry about the time it takes, I can have a bit of lunch or read the news while I’m waiting,” Mr Bott said.
“We probably need the long range which is a little harder to charge. Showgrounds are often a back-up option in the country, it’s not the range of the cars, 300 – 400 kilometres of range is plenty, but we just need charging stations to be more common about the place.
“At home I charge the car from solar panels, that’s free. I use it two or three times a week. I don’t commute, so I charge it at a lower rate in the middle of the day for next to nothing.”