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How far would you go to be part of a showroom launch and to view the Tesla Cybertruck? How about 3000 kilometres? My friends (Rado and Lawrence) flew from Brisbane to Perth with their partners to be part of the celebrations at the end of August. There had been rumours on Facebook about sighting of a Cybertruck on the back of a car transporter, crossing the Nullarbor. So called because there are no trees — just thousands of miles of sand. Then came the official email from Tesla: at the opening of the new showroom at O’Connor just south of Perth, there would be a Cybertruck on display. The decision was made and off they flew.
The day before the grand opening, they visited the site hoping for a sneak preview. The Tesla staff could not say anything, but an astute observation of body language led them to observe a shrouded object with a suspicious shape at the back of the showroom. It had arrived!
Crowds at the showroom opening. Photo courtesy Hana Rubinstejnova
The event was advertised as family friendly — including the furry kids. Rado tells me: “There were plenty of dogs, as it was a dog friendly weekend, and they even had a Tesla fitted with the dog accessories at the back seat.” One of the activities for the two-legged children was the painting of a white Tesla! Rado couldn’t watch. He went for a walk. You can view the program here.
Painting the Tesla. Photo courtesy Lawrence Lau.
There were lots for the adults too, with tech talks and displays and, of course, the Cybertruck! On display was the Tesla Owners Club of Western Australia’s caravan and vehicle. They were heading off to do the big lap, circumnavigating the world’s largest island — Australia. TOCWA has over 2,500 active members and counting, as Tesla sales increase rapidly in Western Australia. The mining boom has brought wealth to this sparsely populated state. Looks like they are spending money on EVs. And caravans that can recharge them. See the video here.
Lawrence and the Cybertruck in Perth. Photo courtesy Lawrence Lau.
Tesla used this opportunity to give prospective owners, and the just plain curious, a good look “under the hood.” The servicing department was open and people could see the “innards” of the world’s highest selling vehicle — the transmission, the motor, and the battery.
For those who wanted to get physical, there was a competition for pumping up tyres. The fastest pumper wins a Tesla for a weekend. The commodious car park was blocked off and used for test drives throughout the day. Rado tells me that there were hundreds of Teslas belonging to private owners parked in surrounding streets. I would have loved to have interviewed some of the neighbours and got their reaction. It would be like an alien invasion.
TOCWA Tesla and solar powered caravan. Photo courtesy Rado Trenciansky.
The event only lasted for the morning, with hundreds and sometimes up to a thousand people crowding into the area. You might say “O’Connor was flooded with Teslas and fans.” Rado and Lawrence thought there were easily as many Teslas in Perth as there are in their native Brisbane. For comparison, Brisbane has a population of about 2.5 million, and Perth 2.1 million.
Lawrence has kindly shared some videos of the presentations. Here is the motor tech talk, with some handy suggestions on how to rebut FUD at the family BBQ, and here is the energy talk.
The trip was not just about the opening of the new Tesla showroom and viewing the Cybertruck, it was also a holiday for the friends. Upon flying into Perth, Lawrence hired a Tesla Model Y to drive around. He was asked: “Have you driven an EV before?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“Well, here’s your car.”
Seems similar to other experiences reported on EV websites — the Hertz model. It didn’t work for Hertz. After Lawrence and his wife flew back to Sydney, Rado and his wife Hana stayed in Western Australia for two more days and hired a BMW iX3 electric to compare to their Tesla Model S that they drive in Brisbane. He tells me that the BMW iX3 is certainly powerful enough and spacious. The software is not quite as good as in his Tesla. At one point, the navigation took them for an adventure around Perth. His biggest criticism: “The buttons were overwhelming.” He has posted a video review here.
Rado hired the car from SIXT. Once again, there was introduction on how to drive an electric car. It was like this: “Here’s your car, have fun.” No information. On a positive note, it comes with free charging from Chargefox, and they didn’t have to charge to full on return. The car was returned to SIXT at the airport on 60% and attracted no penalties. Rado and Hana continued their holiday on to Bali where Rado tells me he is spotting electric motorcycles and a few BYD e6 taxis. In a modern miracle, this interview was conducted from his hotel in Bali via Facebook messenger video chat.
Just before he signed off, he reminded me that a few years ago I suggested doing a story on how he got involved with Tesla electric vehicles. So, over Facebook messenger video, he told me his story. “I was a big fan of solar and went into EVs from that. There was only so much that we could send to the grid, so I thought, if we get an EV we can drive on sunshine. My European father-in-law told us about Tesla in 2014. I spent a year researching the electric vehicles that were available. It was obvious that Tesla was best.
“By now it was 2017, still too long to wait for the Model 3. I looked at the second-hand market. The in-laws from Europe helped with test drives. We found a Model S in Melbourne, Victoria, flew down from Brisbane, and did an inspection. We drove back in a 2015 Model S 70 rear-wheel drive with 24,000 km on the odometer at a cost of AU$91,000. The car has done 168,000 km (about 100,000 miles) so far and saved about AU$30,000 in petrol costs. I’m still in love with the car — every time we hop in. We have had no problems with the drivetrain or the battery. The only thing that gets changed is tyres — every 50,000 km.
“The day after we got back to Brisbane from Melbourne, we started the Facebook page Tesla Owners and Fans — have been supporters of Tesla’s mission ever since.”
Majella and I have been on several drives with Rado and his group — always an enjoyable experience with a diverse group of Tesla owners and fans. The Facebook page has grown to 1,700 members. You can check it out and join here.
With committed influencers like Rado and Lawrence and their partners, the future is looking bright and electric.
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