It won’t solve the problem of human traffic jams on the Mt Everest summit, but Tesla’s installation of a supercharger station near the base camp of the world’s tallest mountain will guarantee a fast recharge for intrepid travellers doing their bit to stave off global warming.
The new supercharger was installed at the famous global landmark sometime last month, according to numerous reports on various Tesla-focused blogs (and Hindustan Times Auto), apparently based on information published by Tesla China on its Weibo account (which has also reportedly since been deleted).
The supercharger station within sight of Mt Everest is said to be one of 11 recently installed around China, charting a “picturesque route from Chengdu to Tingri,” the county in the south of Tibet that is used as a base camp for climbers.
“We drove over 2500+ kilometers, across 13 sea levels 4000+ miles high, passing 20+ famous landscapes,” a quote shared by the blog Teslarati said.
One blog, Teslarati, included the screen shot from the now deleted Weibo post. Another, the Tesmanian, said that the Supercharger was installed at the Roof of the World Hotel in Tibet, Tingri, roughly 100km from the Everest base camp.
Why, you might ask – particularly in Australia, where we could do with some more supercharger stations in some of our most ordinary locations, let alone at 5,364 metres above sea level?
The Tingri installation might have been inspired by the efforts of one Tesla Model 3 driver, who last year travelled 5,500km from Shenzhen all the way to the Everest base camp – even if they reportedly did this without experiencing any range anxiety at all.
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.