Tesla in Australia

[Dborn]

reply from Naomi regarding conference call and failure to mention any right hand drive news.

"You are correct that we are planning to start delivery in China from Q1 2014, slightly earlier than RHDs.
We are still slated to start delivery for RHDs in Q2 (April-June) of 2014 starting from our Signature customers.

I hope in the next couple of months, we will be able to announce pricing and options.
Sorry I don't have more information for you, but we will notify our Reservation Holders when any news becomes available. "

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Anyone have thoughts or educated guesses on electrical requirements for home charging?

I'm having some power work done soon and if I need to upgrade my supply (and/or change to 3-phase) now might be a good time to start getting organised.

The "High Powered Wall Connector" (HPWC) http://shop.teslamotors.com/collections/model-s-charging-adapters/products/high-power-wall-connector can supply 20kW so at 250V that's 80A.
The Western Power site http://www.westernpower.com.au/residents/connections/connections.html helpfully tells me the standard supply on single phase is only 63A - although my main circuit breaker is 80A, I don't know if that means I have a larger than standard supply already.

The standard supply on 3-phase is 32A per phase, and from what I can work out that is also somewhere around 20kW depending on power factor, so I have a feeling I need to either
a) get a quote on upgrading to a non-standard supply or
b) not bother with getting the "twin charger" option and charge at "only" 10kW (which will still charge even the 85kWh battery overnight)

- Matt

My guess is that 3 phase supply will be available. I understand that it was made available in Europe, so we should get that here too. My house has 3 phase, but I built in 1999 and put in air conditioning and a lift, which is why. In Sydney, i think standard supply is 80amps per house. I am sure my supply is a lot higher, but don't know how high. Mind you, i live down the end of a private road and it cost me a fortune because i also had to run the street bundled cable from the transformer. About 300 metres!!!

 

[heosat]

I did my factory tour and test drive yesterday and after 24hrs to digest things here are my thoughts:

The factory tour was great, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the process of building the car and I especially found the QA process quite fascinating. During the time I was there they were assembling (and then disassembling) Tilburg bound Model S and the number plate holders do not make the car look any less attractive. I did find the speed at which they were producing vehicles quite strange, it seemed that most of the factory was idle, even at 3pm during a weekday. There definitely seems to be a lot of capacity to increase production of the Model S. I saw nothing related to the RHD car and all questions about it were summarily dismissed.

As for the test drive, well, I was a little disappointed. If you take the car as just 4 wheels, a battery, motor, steering rack and suspension then it was great. The accelerator was smooth, the car could be driven well at high or low speeds and the regenerative breaking was perfectly executed. It was a big vehicle but very manageable and truly a great driving car in the class of a BMW or Porsche. As everyone knows, the acceleration is second to none and the quietness was simply amazing. But then a car isn't just the elements attached to the road, it's actually a place to sit in, and the interior let it down significantly. The seats were passable with the side bolsters being extremely poor, the lack of "oh ****" handles and places to grab for passengers was abhorrent for such a lithe car and the rest of the interior felt, well, American. Even the Mercedes steering wheel and stalks felt slightly out of place and old-fashioned. However, the interior and storage space was laudable; I've simply never seen so much flexibility with regards to storing big bulky items and of course the touchscreen was excellent.

Unfortunately the test drive is making me second guess my purchase of the car. In Australia it's going to be incredibly expensive and the primary reason I'm getting the car is to reduce my ecological footprint over the next decade, but I don't know if I can accept the compromises in the interior. Some might say I'm being incredibly fussy, but it's simply not up to European standards; it even falls behind my BMW 1 series which will be less than half the price.

 

[Dborn]

Thanks heosat. That is why I put my name down for the BMW i3. Only 60 of those scheduled for Aus next year, but at least I have sat in a right hand drive one. Yes a quirky styling, but a BMW in terms of amenities. I drive a B class Merc and don't really need a big car, but don't like sending my hard earned to the Middle East. The main downside is the range, but thinking about my real world driving habits, and a full tank every morning, probably enough. Will wait to see the Aus spec tho' not to mention the pricing, and the prospect that we won't be getting the USA fitout.

 

[Dborn]

UK pricing is out on the UK site. NO sigs at all for the UK so we probably won't get them either. For the options I want and an s85 it is approx 70000 pounds without their EV incentives. If our prices come in at that level I will be happy as that is what I have budgeted for and my shares have basically bought the car for me.

 

[SteveWest]

NO sigs at all for the UK so we probably won't get them either.

We better get them, I want the sig colour.

 

[hileyms]

There are no sigs in UK because we were linked with Europe. All sigs were sold in Europe first so when they got round to opening up the order book in the Uk there were none left (well that was the explanation on the GB website last week).

 

[heosat]

In an email I received in June, Naomi stated that cars will be available for test drive in Australia around April/May so that we can option the cars out in preparation for delivery a few months later. If that's still the case, some RHD cars will need to be made by early March at the latest, so that they can be shipped to Australia. That gives Tesla about 80 days. I wonder if they can do it?

 

[salamagd]

We shall see! I've just gone through the reservation process in the last week - a lot later than most of the other reservation holders on here, but I can't wait to get my hands on a Model S in Melbourne. Still quoting Q2 2014 delivery, which seems pretty optimistic... We're now up to #131, for those interested!

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Also, apologies if this is already common knowledge, but I just had a quick look at the Tesla jobs page and they've got the following locations listed:

Australia-Melbourne-Service
Australia-Melbourne-Store
Australia-Sydney-Service
Australia-Sydney 2-Service
Australia-Sydney-Store

 

[hileyms]

In an email I received in June, Naomi stated that cars will be available for test drive in Australia around April/May so that we can option the cars out in preparation for delivery a few months later. If that's still the case, some RHD cars will need to be made by early March at the latest, so that they can be shipped to Australia. That gives Tesla about 80 days. I wonder if they can do it?

According to Elon when he opened the London showroom in October, he said he would be delivering an S personally to a VIP in UK in March 2014. On that basis they will have to have built a batch of RHD's by then.

 

[meloccom]

DRIVE.com.au have recently published a 'news' article titled "Tesla-to-return-to-Australia"
Not much new news and a stupid guesstimate of the starting price of $200k.
It may indicate that Tesla is lining up local press for a launch but maybe that's just my wishful thinking.

 

[moollar]

Not much new news and a stupid guesstimate of the starting price of $200k.

How on earth did they get a starting price of $200k?! Given the large noises Tesla are making about not gouging international buyers with their China launch, I just can't fathom how the author got to $200k as a staring price. There's NO WAY that a base 60KWh Model S will be priced like that. I'm shaking my head after reading some of the comments after the article. Good old "trusty" drive.com.au journalism. They have no idea what they're talking about half the time (when it comes to EVs anyway).

It may indicate that Tesla is lining up local press for a launch but maybe that's just my wishful thinking.

Let's hope so. Only a couple more months till second quarter....

 

[spentan]

How on earth did they get a starting price of $200k?! Given the large noises Tesla are making about not gouging international buyers with their China launch, I just can't fathom how the author got to $200k as a staring price. There's NO WAY that a base 60KWh Model S will be priced like that. I'm shaking my head after reading some of the comments after the article. Good old "trusty" drive.com.au journalism. They have no idea what they're talking about half the time (when it comes to EVs anyway).



Let's hope so. Only a couple more months till second quarter....

Hoping for some reasonable pricing but I wouldn't hold your breath.

Base 60kwh is about 71k USD without tax credit. This is about 82k Aud. Add gst taking it to 90k, then luxury car tax which adds another 5k or so.

Add stamp duty and you're looking at ~$100k for the base 60kwh with no options selected.

The sad thing is, add 50% to each option to allow for GST, LCT, Stamp duty and us->au conversion.

This is not even factoring shipping/homologation costings. This is just based on us pricibg

 

[Tasdevil]

Doesn't look like I'll be buying a Gen3 then.

Although Nissan is able to sell their Leaf for 40k drive away..

And before anyone says the leaf can only travel 200km and the tesla can do 400km. Well my car does 600-700km (yes it's an ice) and costs less than the Leaf.

My point is how do u make a car to sell to the masses when it's priced out of that league or is tesla being very optimistic that gen3 is the car to sell to the masses? Maybe it will be gen4.

 

[spentan]

Doesn't look like I'll be buying a Gen3 then.

Although Nissan is able to sell their Leaf for 40k drive away..

And before anyone says the leaf can only travel 200km and the tesla can do 400km. Well my car does 600-700km (yes it's an ice) and costs less than the Leaf.

My point is how do u make a car to sell to the masses when it's priced out of that league or is tesla being very optimistic that gen3 is the car to sell to the masses? Maybe it will be gen4.

@Tasdevil, my numbers were based on a 60kWh Model S, not a Gen 3.

No information has been released regarding the Gen3. Expectations have it placed around $30k in USA, which means in Australia it will probably hit around ~$50-60k similar to the volt. (Price wise).

Will be interesting to see what it's like.

 

[Jmac]

Lets hope they stick to the initial thought process of starting with the USD with a minimal uplift (ie like Canada) price point and simply adding what is costs to bring to market - still @ 5% + 10% and 33% above LCT but at least the transparency is there - and not the Australian Uplift for the market. As software plays a large role in the optional equipment - there may be a good opportunity to take delivery of a car sans some options and then back to the service center for an upgrade of options minus the LCT - there are ways - if we could do that with a 60 - access an 85 down the track - it would work brilliantly!!

 

[Jmac]

....and Homologation all good for AU guys - final sign off happening this month and not too many hoops at all to jump through.....the beauty of a worldwide homologation team hey ;-)

 

[meloccom]

Welcome back Jay!

 

[Jmac]

Thank you good Sir....i trust all is well ;-)

 

[moollar]

....and Homologation all good for AU guys - final sign off happening this month and not too many hoops at all to jump through.....the beauty of a worldwide homologation team hey ;-)

Welcome back Jay. Are you back with Tesla as well?

I think we need to get some sort of lobbying with the government to eliminate the LCT for zero emission vehicles. Surely it fits in well with the "direct action plan" of the Federal Government. It will make a big difference to the price and will see the Model S sell quite well I would imagine. Even better would be if we could get some other incentives happening as well...

In fact, maybe we should all contact Ian Macfarlane and let him know that he could probably throw some incentives Tesla's way in the hopes of them taking over Ford's Geelong factory in 2016. He could become the saviour of the Aussie auto industry...

 

[Dborn]

Welcome back Jay. Are you back with Tesla as well?

I think we need to get some sort of lobbying with the government to eliminate the LCT for zero emission vehicles. Surely it fits in well with the "direct action plan" of the Federal Government. It will make a big difference to the price and will see the Model S sell quite well I would imagine. Even better would be if we could get some other incentives happening as well...indeed, welcome back Jay. Yes, our Feds should be looking at this. The car plants here would be good for Tesla. Would need to get the unions on side though. They are largely to blame for the demise, although lousy product comes a close second.

In fact, maybe we should all contact Ian Macfarlane and let him know that he could probably throw some incentives Tesla's way in the hopes of them taking over Ford's Geelong factory in 2016. He could become the saviour of the Aussie auto industry...

indeed welcome back , Jay.
They would need to get the unions on side first. Lousy product and unions caused the problem in the first place.