Jimmy Barnes, one of Australia’s best-loved musicians, has given his support to electric vehicles amid the recent controversy that has plagued Australian politics and dumbfounded observers in the last fortnight.
While on a holiday overseas, the music industry veteran has been driving a Tesla – and according to Barnes, its’ long range and ability to charge off solar panels has him convinced to ditch the family’s petrol and diesel cars and instead switch to electric upon his return.
Along with a series of photos posted on social media channel Twitter overnight (Australian time), Barnes commented that in addition to the Tesla costing nothing to run, it is safe, quiet and fast.
“I love it and can’t wait to switch our petrol and diesel cars over,” Barnes wrote.
“It feels so good to do [your] bit to get off the grid.”
Car chargers hooked up to home solar panels. The Tesla has a range of 440kms. This car costs us zero $ to drive. It’s safe, quiet, looks great and is super fast. I love it and can’t wait to switch our petrol and diesel cars over. It feels so good to do ur bit to get off the grid pic.twitter.com/Qi89ygk4i4
— Jimmy Barnes (@JimmyBarnes) April 15, 2019
Barnes joins a growing contingent of respected Australians who are throwing their hat in the electric vehicle ring against a vilifying campaign by the Coalition, headed by prime minister Scott Morrison and energy minister Angus Taylor, that Labor’s 50% target for new electric car sales by 2030 is a “war on weekends“.
Former Olympic skiing champion and now political candidate for Warringah Zali Steggall attended the Smart Energy Council conference in Sydney last week, trying out Australian startup ACE-EV’s groundbreaking Cargo vehicle.
Steggall called for the federal government to intervene with policies that make electric cars more affordable for families last week, also via Twitter.
Looking forward to more family friendly electric vehicle models being available. I know how hard it is to find affordable cars to take five kids around in.  The federal government needs to take responsibility for managing the transition so costs come down for families. #auspol
— Zali Steggall (@zalisteggall) April 7, 2019
Atlassian founder and tech entrepreneur Michael Cannon-Brookes of “billionaire tweets” fame is also known for his support for EVs, having reached out to Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk yet again via Twitter to establish if the EV pioneer thought 50% electric cars sold by 2030 was achievable (the answer was a resounding yes).
Fellow Australian tech entrepreneur Simon Hackett of Internode has also lent his weight to the EV cause, posting a compelling tweet yesterday showing his electric car towing his light electric aircraft.
“Don’t let @ScottMorrisonMP tell you EV’s can’t tow things – that’s bulls**t,” Hackett said.
Here is our electric car towing our electric aircraft – today. Yes, really. Don't let @ScottMorrisonMP tell you EV's can't tow things – that's bulls**t. Don't tell him about this tweet, either, or he'll probably claim electric aircraft don't exist. Or that black is white. pic.twitter.com/xbaRGMl4zg
— Simon Hackett (@simonhackett) April 16, 2019
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.