South West Tesla vehicle owners have begun salivating over the installation of Western Australia’s first and only Tesla supercharging station.
The station, installed at Eaton Fair Shopping Centre, received a warm welcome from Shire of Dardanup and Eaton Fair representatives on Friday, October 6.
A fleet of Tesla vehicles drove in on Friday afternoon to take full advantage of the new facility.
Eaton Fair centre manager Michael Prosser, Shire of Dardanup president Michael Bennett and Tesla Car Club president Rob Dean were on hand to welcome Tesla vehicle drivers to the area.
Meanwhile, Frank Lister (the first Tesla owner in WA) became the first person to use one of the superchargers.
The station was commissioned ahead of next year’s roll out of Tesla Model 3 vehicles in Australia.
The facility, located close to the centre’s Recreation Drive entrance, will provide up to 120 kilowatts of power and 270km of range for 30 minutes of charging time.
Mr Prosser said the facility marks a “point of difference” for the centre and region.
“Initially there are not many Tesla drivers in Western Australia but with their growth internationally, and the release of the Model 3 which is a consumer level car, they expect all six supercharger stations will be heavily utilised by 2019,” he said.
“That will mean that people as far south as Margaret River and beyond will stop at Eaton Fair on their way and stop for the 24/7 amenities.”
Mr Bennett said the facility would assist in bringing more people into the Shire.
“The benefits are that we will indicate to people that there’s more out there than just the common car,” he said.
“Being the first means that everybody is going to come and have a look at it which is great for us, great to draw people into our shopping centre etc.”
Tesla vehicle enthusiast and driver John Miller said the location would help him travel to and from Perth as well as around the region.
