Turnbulls make leap from hybrid to full battery electric, join waiting list for Tesla Model 3

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy have decided to make the leap from hybrid cars to a fully electric car, but admit they have had to join the lengthening queues for a Tesla Model 3.

Lucy Turnbull, the former Sydney mayor, revealed she had joined the waiting list in a tweet posted in response to Tesla owner, climate advocate and engineer Daniel Bleakley, who had asked – in his own inimitable language – why people who could do so had not yet made the switch to EVs from “mechanical fart boxes”.

“Delivery,” responded Lucy Turnbull, before confirming that the she had, indeed, placed an order. It appears the Turnbulls  have now joined the growing queue for Tesla Model 3s, with the company recently advising of an up to seven month wait for Australian customers.

It’s not the only company to face supply shortages for Australian EV customers. Kia reckons it could sell 10 times as many of its new EV6 electric SUVs if it had the supply, and Hyundai has also placed its Ioniq 5 on rations in Australia.

Turnbull’s response drew a gentle rebuke from Heath Walker, formerly Tesla’s main public face in Australia, who now works elswhere.

“I told @TurnbullMalcom to order earlier,” he said.

Malcolm Turnbull has long been a Tesla fan, having visited the California factory and test driving a Model S way back in 2015, while he was biding his time on the back-bench.

As prime minister, he also got to talk to Elon Musk about the South Australia battery plans, but there are no signs that this acquaintence has helped him jump the lengthening queue.

But, as Walker laments, Turnbull has taken his time to make the shift to fully electric, contenting himself with a Camry hybrid – as he once told The Driven – and his kayak, although his family has invested heavily in rooftop solar and battery storage at their Sydney home. And it appears that Lucy Turnbull has made this decision on behalf of the family.

Such a shame it didn’t happen when Turnbull was prime minister, although his time in the top job pre-dated the arrival of the Model 3 in Australia. Since then, at least four federal MPs, the latest being Labor’s Chris Bowen, and the NSW energy minister Matt Kean, have chosen Model 3s as part of their parliamentary car allowances.