Tesla opts for gasoline-powered vehicles for roadside service for its cars in Austral

May 24, 2021

Tesla opts for gasoline-powered vehicles for roadside service for its cars in Australia

By Thomas Lifson

When you absolutely, positively have to get there (and back) way out in the outback...*

They've got a lot of wide-open space Down Under, places where you can drive a long, long way before you encounter much in the way of human settlement, including electricity supplies. That may be why Tesla in Australia is using gasoline-powered pickup trucks to go out and rescue Tesla-owners stranded on the road. Tim Blair of The Telegraph spotted the concession to the reality of needing a driving range greater than can be handled by an electric truck such as the electric Ford F 150 Lightning, recently driven by President Biden, that gets as little as 100 miles** on a charge when towing.

Electric car-maker Tesla isn't taking any range risks in Australia with their support vehicles. When they need to repair their breakdown-prone plug buggies, Tesla use reliable, petrol-powered Mitsubishis.

Here is the photo showing the Tesla name on a Mitsubishi service truck:

https://www.hostpic.org/images/2105250008190139.jpg

Keep in mind that if one tests the range of an electric vehicle out on a trip, one has to wait hours to recharge the battery. If you are paying an auto mechanic an hourly labor charge, that recharging time would have to go on the bill, as well, if they used electric trucks for a service mission way into the outback.



* The old joke in Oz is that if you want to go into the outback, you should drive a Land Rover. But if you want to get back from the outback, you should drive a Land Cruiser.

** BBC's Top Gear television automag tested a Tesla Roadster (mfgr predicted range, 244 miles) and found the car predicted it would exhaust a full charge after just 55 miles of "spirited" driving.