Australians have been enthusiastic about the pioneering EV brand Tesla, with more than 1400 Model S and Model Xs sold in 2017 across the country and many reservations made for the upcoming mass-market EV, the Model 3.
However, there is a snag: currently, there are only four Tesla service centres in Australia, all on the east coast: one in Melbourne, one in Brisbane and two in Sydney (one of these being the recently opened Alexandria service centre).
Now it seems that this disparity will be addressed by the end of next year, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
On Wednesday, he posted on social media platform Twitter that upon reviewing Tesla service locations in North America, he realised, “we have major gaps in geographic coverage! Sorry for this foolish oversight”.
To address this oversight, he said, “Tesla will aim to cover all regions of NA (not just big cities) within 3 to 6 months”.
Just reviewed Tesla’s service locations in North America & realized we have major gaps in geographic coverage! Sorry for this foolish oversight. Tesla will aim to cover all regions of NA (not just big cities) within 3 to 6 months.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 17, 2018
Musk was quick to recognise the fact that this gap should be addressed globally, following up with the statement, “Same goes for all countries within which we officially operate by end of next year”.
Same goes for all countries within which we officially operate by end of next year
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 17, 2018
While there are service centres dotted across the US (and a few in northern american cousin Canada), concentrations exist from Washington to New York and on the west coast from San Diego to San Francisco, leaving unserviced areas especially in the mid-west, as this screenshot taken from Tesla’s global website shows:
There are indeed some major gaps to be filled.
The case is not quite as bad in Europe, where countries are smaller and city locations are dotted across the continent anyway, leaving one to argue the need to fill gaps is none more so than in Australia and New Zealand, as well as Asia.
Several Australian followers chirped up, requesting in particular that Tesla open service centres (and more chargers) in places other than the east coast of Australia, for example:
please come to West Australia….I would love to buy a Tesla but we live 900kms from Perth…if there was more charging stations along the way I would order one in a heartbeat!
— Michael Ratcliffe (@MikeyRatcliffe1) October 17, 2018
Since recent conditions were put in place as part of the settlement Musk made with the SEC after his rogue tweet regarding taking Tesla private, ordering the Tesla board to oversee Musk’s public communications with more diligence, the CEO is focusing his communications on developments of his various companies including the the durability and safety of Tesla Model 3, as well as on answering Tesla EV customers’ expectations and needs.
Model 3 motor & gearbox still in good condition after driving 1M miles. Designed for ultra high endurance. https://t.co/LVO2clQZ3V
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2018
Tesla also recently opened a new EV charging site with 50 plugs in Hong Kong, which is being called the biggest electric car charging station in Asia, according to the South China Morning Post.
The Tesla CEO has also told Tesla that he intends to buy back $US20 million worth of common stock in the EV maker’s next trading window, according to a filing submitted in relation to the CEO’s SEC settlement.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.