Ute seen charging at a Tesla Supercharger, instead of ICE-ing it

It’s no secret that Australian drivers are obsessed with utes and, with the absence of many electric options, they are not often seen at fast charging stations – unless they are parked there blocking access – as seen earlier this year in Melbourne when a Ford Ranger blocked three bays at one Tesla supercharger site.

Finally, though, one ute has been spotted charging at a Tesla supercharger in Victoria which was shared by an EV enthusiast and reader of The Driven, Rahul Prasad, on X.

An LDV eT60 electric ute was seen charging there when Prasad arrived at the charger on his way back from a road trip. 

The grey ute, which has the charge port on the left-hand side – similar to Tesla EVs – appeared to have no issue getting the shorter Tesla charging cable to the port. 

LDV – and other electric vehicles can now charge at nearly half of Tesla supercharger sites across Australia after the company opened up access to non-Tesla vehicles. This will be welcomed by many EV users, particularly as Tesla sites are normally more reliable, and more charging bays.

“This is the WAY”, one reader observed of the LDV sightings. Others highlighted how rare this sighting is: “Rare as hen’s teeth!”. 

There are not many T60 electric utes on Australia roads, with data from FCAI suggesting just 60 sales so far in 2023. The LDV has a recommended retail price of $92,990 drivea-way for private buyers. Given that it’s a 2WD ute with a 130 kW motor powering rear wheels, it’s not the most powerful in its class.

It also comes with an 88.55 kWh battery pack and 330 km of range, and is priced at more than twice that of an equivalent ICE ute.

On the towing front, this ute has a towing capacity of 1,000 kg which is not class-leading in the ICE utes, but it does the job for many looking at towing smaller trailers with tools.