Most people believe the challenging drive on this journey is the 1200km Nullarbor section between Norseman and Ceduna. As far as EV charging goes it requires patience and planning plus a relaxed attitude to food and accommodation choices. This article is not focussed on the Nullarbor, but driving from Port Augusta to Sydney which has 3 different routes with plenty of DC charging options but a whole different set of challenges. For Nullarbor information see So You Want to Drive an EV Across the Nullarbor.
The absolute almost failure proof route is in the Deep South via Tailem Bend and Ballarat, it’s far longer but has much better services along the way. For those that are a bit fussy take this route.
The most common route and shortest is via Mildura and Wagga Wagga, there’s no need to charge from anything but the reliable RAASA network and Tesla Superchargers thus avoiding the troubled NRMA network. The distance from Port Augusta to Sydney is 1546kms with a fairly reasonable choice of food and accommodation services, the downsides to this route is a large volume of traffic including time constrained heavy haulage plus the poor condition of various sections of highway that should be in far better condition. On this route you won’t get charger anxiety but may end up with pothole anxiety.
The 3rd and most northerly route is via Broken Hill and Dubbo, at 1556kms it’s only 10kms longer than the central route but has one potential hurdle so I’ll get to that first. The 414km drive between Port Augusta and Broken Hill is covered by reliable RAASA DC chargers at Wilmington and Peterborough, the last 392kms between Dubbo and Sydney is Tesla Supercharger territory, the potential tripping hazard is the 753kms between Broken Hill and Dubbo due to a need to rely on the NRMA DC network, most NRMA sites only have one charging cable, there’s no idle fees, and there’s no back up type 2 as is standard on the RAASA and WAEV networks. If you arrive at an NRMA DC charger and it’s out of service or blocked by an inconsiderate EV driver plugged in but not charging you have to find your own plan B. I don’t have much faith in the NRMA to make a few simple improvements but I do have hope that the Tesla Supercharger network will extend west of Dubbo, when that occurs it should be the preferred route.
Despite having to deal at some stage with the NRMA I highly recommend this route as a once-off opportunity to explore Peterborough, Broken Hill, Silverton, Cobar and Nyngan so here are a few tips to drive this route:
The NRMA app is poor, luckily charging can be started via the Chargefox app, I use this method always.
Plan at least one and possibly 2 nights at Broken Hill, there’s plenty to see including a short drive out to the Mad Max 2 museum at Silverton, the Pro Hart Gallery, Bells Milk Bar for a Lime Spider, the Palace Hotel for dinner, and of course the mining history of the area. Take note that Broken Hill is in NSW but operates on the SA time zone.
When departing east from Broken Hill leave as early as possible and make sure you have a 100% charge to reduce charging downtime at Wilcannia, from October to April Wilcannia can get extremely hot, the NRMA 50kW chargers are a bit too far from any shops and lack shade, a 30 minute charging stop at 9.00am is bearable, anything else in Summer is not.
Lunch at Cobar is recommended, plenty of history to take in.
Nyngan has an interesting Helicopter monument that’s worth visiting while charging. Also a handy overnight stop before a final day drive to Sydney.
If your destination is the Central Coast or Brisbane rather than Sydney the route via Broken Hill is the better option.
If you have the time to plan ahead you could try the Broken Hill route heading east and the Central route on the return journey.
The best comparison is to use two vehicles that are likely to drive across the Nullarbor on any given day. I know a few dozen Tesla Model Y SUVs have done it, including my own 4 times, and I also have no doubt a similar size 2022-24 Hyundai Tucson diesel SUV has more than once crossed the country.
The Journey The section between the towns of Ceduna in the east and Norseman in the west is generally seen as the Nullarbor drive, a total distance of 1201kms, a sealed surface, 1 lane each way, mostly flat, virtually all 110kmh.
The cheapest fuel in the middle section of the Nullarbor is $2.52 per litre (March 2024).
Driving the Hyundai Tucson Diesel The claimed fuel consumption for the 1.6 litre diesel is 6.3 litres per 100kms. Our Hyundai driver is very experienced at getting the best fuel consumption so I’ll round that down to 6 litres per 100kms, it also makes the arithmetic a bit easier. The Hyundai driver is also wise with his fuel purchases and will make use of the 800km range fuel tank by filling right up on the cheapest fuel in Ceduna at $1.96 a litre. Despite the good range per tank the Hyundai driver still needs to stop for fuel once between Border Village and Caiguna Roadhouse, luckily there are 6 different fuel stops on that 350km section. According to this week’s diesel prices the cheapest is Eucla at $2.52 a litre, luckily the Hyundai driver doesn’t need to fill up, it’s only necessary to add 400kms of fuel or 24 litres, enough to scrape through to Norseman. Ceduna 48 litres at $1.96 = $94.08 Eucla 24 litres at $2.52 = $60.48 Trip total for diesel $154.56. Why not use the cost to refill at the end of the trip instead of the start? Norseman diesel has averaged $2.14 during 2024, that would cost more, the Hyundai driver is smarter than that.
The EV SUV Using March 2024 Charging Options My Model Y has averaged 15.3kWh per 100kms over the past 43,000kms, so to make the arithmetic easier I’ll round that up to 16kWh per 100kms. At 16kWh per 100kms the Model Y range is limited to 460kms, this requires a minimum two charging stops after the initial charging at Ceduna. To make the journey without any compromise I’ll go for a more expensive 3 charging stops at Nullarbor, Mundrabilla and Caiguna. Despite paying a flat all you can charge fee of $32, $30 and $50 respectively I’ll only be adding 65-70% to the battery at each stop. Ceduna 48kWh x 60 cents per unit = $28.20 Nullarbor flat fee $32 Mundrabilla flat fee $30 Caiguna flat fee $50 Trip total for electricity $140.20.
The EV SUV Using July 2024 Charging Options From July onwards DC charging options will improve rapidly on the western side of the Nullarbor with 4 Horizon sites powered with solar energy. Any improvement on the eastern side of the Nullarbor in Q3 2024 will depend on the NRMA following through on another media release claiming the Nullarbor and Border Village Roadhouse will be getting DC charging soon, if that happens all fast DC charging from Ceduna to Norseman will be 60 cents per unit making the arithmetic easy. 192kWh x 60 cents per unit = $115.20
Unfortunately for the diesel vehicle owner there’s very little hope for an improvement in fuel costs, 5 competing fuel suppliers at 11 fuel stops are burdened with transporting fuel over long distances adding to the expense. On the other hand EV charging has two aces up its sleeve, first and foremost electricity can be made on site at a reasonable cost with renewable energy, a good example is the Horizon DC chargers being installed in remote areas of Western Australia that are solar powered. Secondly EV charging in Australia is still in its infancy, competition is yet to arrive.
The Horizon Power WAEV Network charger at Norseman is 60c/kWh.
The climate in the southern half of Western Australia is near perfect for a Tesla, warm and dry most of the time and winters where the temperature only drops below 5C for a few hours on the occasionally early morning, if you enjoy getting good Wh/km efficiency WA is the place to achieve it.
On the downside is the long hot summer of constant intense sunlight and high temperatures, this doesn’t generally harm the Wh/km figures recorded during longer drives but does put a serious dent in efficiency for those driving short (less than 15km) trips after being parked in an exposed area for even a short period during the day. Every time you drive off in a car with a hot interior the aircon is working hard to reduce the temperature, depending on conditions that could take anything from 10 to 30kms.
Teslas have an excellent feature known as cabin overheat protection, even on a 30C day this will consume up to 4% of the battery over 9 hours, personally I’ll happily accept a 4% loss each day over Summer but anyone who is not is free to turn cabin overheat protection off. Of course if car park designers who have a fetish for destroying trees allocated funds for solar panel canopies car parks wouldn’t be so hot.
So are all these hot Summer days killing your range? Not really, it’s consuming far more energy between each charge but as this is caused by short drives and long parking sessions it’s not relevant unless you’re buying expensive electricity. Range is only a factor on very long drives away from reliable fast charging. When you go on a long drive the heat will have little effect on your Wh/km efficiency (it helps if you pre-cool the interior while plugged into shore power before departure).
Hot tips for a cool interior Try to park in the shade even if it’s a 200 metre walk to your destination. Get interior shades up, especially over the black dashboard. Pre-cool the interior using the phone app about 5 minutes before arriving at your car. If only parking for 45 minutes or less put the car in “keep” mode, this leaves the air-conditioner on and does not use any more energy than letting the car heat up then cooling it down again.
A word of caution first, despite being continually maintained by the shires of Dundas and Kondinin any medium to heavy rain could make this road difficult to navigate in a couple of sections. Always check the yellow road condition signs before planning any departure. The weight limit is 5 tonnes although you will likely see some heavy haulage servicing the handful of mines along the road.
Officially the drive is 297kms but it’s best to use the distance of 299kms between the Norseman and Hyden DC chargers.
Is it worth taking this route? Although this direct route is 88kms shorter than driving the sealed road via Coolgardie and Merredin the total driving time will be no more than 10 minutes difference, driving the Norseman-Hyden road is more of an adventure plus a break from the constant flow of fuel tankers and over size mining equipment travelling being Perth and Kalgoorlie.
When to drive it? This is an early morning road, firstly there’s almost no other traffic, secondly it’s cooler when you stop for photo opportunities, thirdly if an issue arises you have a full day of daylight ahead to sort it out.
What to carry? The normal common sense equipment including plenty of water. A spare tyre is a must, if you depart Norseman or Hyden with anything less then you’re taking an unnecessary risk that will end up costing you a lot of wasted time and money.
To cover the 299kms with the focus on enjoying the scenery rather than constantly monitoring efficiency I recommend a standard range Tesla charge to 98% and a long range Tesla charge to 90%. Unsealed roads consume more energy than sealed roads at the same speeds, on our recent trip our Model Y consumed 45kWh at an average speed of 75kmh.
On departure from Norseman Tesla navigation will direct you to drive north towards Coolgardie for approximately 8kms before taking a left hand turn towards Hyden, a better option is to drive south from the DC charger towards the Norseman town centre, turn west on to Ramsey Street which then continues on to become Mort Haslett Drive, this takes you across Lake Cowan via a gravel causeway, thus providing some excellent photo opportunities. Continuing on for another 15kms will join you up with the Hyden Road via a T-Junction.
At the 103km mark is a handy stop called Lake Johnston, this location has basic toilets, picnic benches and shady trees, up until now the only other traffic you’ll likely see is the shire of Dundas employees maintaining the road. This first 103km section we comfortably sat on 70kmh keeping in mind there were still some early morning Roos on the road.
From Lake Johnston onwards the road has straight sections far into the distance, 80kmh was easily maintained right through to Marvel Loch-Forrestania cross road, don’t forget to keep heading west at this point. You’ll notice new power lines for the nearby mine site plus some large areas of cleared scrub acting as a fire break, from this point on the Norseman-Hyden road becomes some of the best quality unsealed surface you’re ever likely to see. Approximately 63kms from Hyden the sealed road begins, continuing all the way to the Hyden DC charger.
Our recent drive took us just over 4 hours with a few short stops along the way, potentially it could be driven faster than that but it’s better to allocate 5 hours and enjoy a 20 minute visit to Lake Johnson plus a few 5 minute photo stops on the way.
In September of 2019, a few days after our long-awaited Model 3 arrived on top of a tilt tray truck in our driveway, we took the pristine Tesla on a 360 km family road trip from Perth to Hyden.
Although we had been a two PHEV family since April of 2016, this was the first time we owned an electric-only vehicle, also known as a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) or PEV (Pure Electric Vehicle). With no internal combustion engine generator to rely on anymore, we had our first experience of ‘range anxiety’ when the car began warning me to plan my next charge because “all known charging locations will be out of range soon.”
Not long after the car began prompting me to “stay below 105 km/h to reach destination”. Being a new car, I was not only keen to test it out and to see what would happen if I ignored the warning but I was also curious about this ‘range anxiety’ phenomena that was often cited in EV articles and YouTube videos at the time. I kept Autopilot set to 110 km/h and not long after the warning changed to prompting me to stay below 100 km/h and then to below 95 km/h.
When the projection chart showed we’d get to Hyden with just 2%, much to my wife’s and I think the kids’ relief, I lost my nerve and I put the car into Chill Mode and slowed right down to 90 km/h.
We ended up getting to Hyden with 4% or 20 km of range and immediately after arriving I plugged the car into a 10A socket at the Hyden Tennis Club.
I didn’t have much luck with getting access to the 3-phase 32A socket at the closed Visitor Centre and I couldn’t get through on the phone either, but I managed to find a 15A socket in the shed on our friend’s property where we were staying. As I was keen to show off the car and took our hosts along for a test drive, when it came time to go back home, we couldn’t leave until after 2 PM as we had to wait for the car to finish trickle charging on the 15A socket in the shed. Being a Performance (Stealth) Model 3, with roughly 73.5kWh of usable battery capacity, it takes approximately 30 hours to charge from 0-100% on a 10A socket and about 20 hours using a 15A plug.
What a difference one proper DC charger makes
Fast forward to December 2023 and Hyden has just become the 26th location to be commissioned on the WA EV Network. It means that we’re now in the back half of the rollout because when complete in early to mid next year, the network will consist of 49 much-needed EV charging locations averaging approximately 200 km apart all the way along the coast from the Northern Territory border to the South Australian border and also to Kalgoorlie.
With the WA EV Network marking it’s halfway milestone, I couldn’t resist taking the same car, this time four years older and with over 110,000km on the odometer, on the same Perth to Hyden road trip. Perhaps still traumatised from the last experience, my wife and the kids were more than happy to leave me to my own devices so I set out on my own this time and about four hours later I arrived in Hyden with 9% and plugged into the freshly commissioned Hyden 150kW Kempower unit (I was aiming for 10%). Only half an hour later I had gained about 300 km of range which would have been enough to allow me to head back with a top-up at Williams but I got chatting and before I knew it, another 20 minutes went past and the car was already charged to 100%. (Once the Brookton charger is commissioned next year, a 20 to 30 minute charge in Hyden will be enough to get to Brookton for a quick top up on the way to Perth.)
Four years earlier, we had no choice but to trickle charge for 20 to 30 hours, which is a little like pouring petrol through a clogged-up straw. Comparing the two experiences is night and day, it is like comparing a rabbit to a tortoise. In other words, it’s just not comparable. Think about it this way, compare going to the beach for 20 to 30 minutes versus 20 to 30 hours or going to the shops for 20 to 30 minutes compared to 20 to 30 hours or popping into work for 20 to 30 minutes as opposed to a marathon 20 to 30 hour shift. Doesn’t matter how you look at it, the two time frames aren’t even in the same ball park.
In case you’re wondering, even though Tesla may be starting to roll out 1 megawatt (1,000kW) V4 Superchargers or Megachargers to service its Semis, the power of most DC (direct current) chargers these days will range between approximately 50kW and 350kW, putting the 150kW Kempower unit a little below the middle of that pack. Although some of the newest EV models, such as the recently delivered Cybertrucks are capable of charging at 350kW it doesn’t mean that a 350kW charger would be more than twice as fast as a 150kW unit. The limiting factor is the current generation of EVs, which in Tesla’s case, top out anywhere between approximately 190kW and about 250kW, depending on the model and its corresponding battery chemistry.
For those who think that a 20-to-40-minute time period to recharge a car is still too long, I’d like to point out something that I discovered on my 17-day trip around Australia in the Model Y RWD, the slowest and shortest-range car that Tesla makes. While I was charging at the various roadhouses, as suggested by TOCWA (The Tesla Owners Club of Western Australia) Chairman Rob Dean, I began to observe other people refuelling their ICE cars. I can tell you that the notion that people refuel their ICE car in 5 to 7 minutes on a long road trip is a fallacy. Granted, while it is possible, it happens very rarely and while most people may stand by their car with their hand on the bowser nozzle for six or so minutes, they will very rarely hop straight back behind the wheel to drive for another four hours. Instead, they will repark the car and they’ll use the restrooms, grab something to eat or drink and stretch their legs for a while. It means that an average roadhouse stop takes 20 to 30 minutes which is about as long as a Tesla Supercharger takes to recharge a Tesla. In fact, when my brother and I together with both families drove two Teslas along the 900 km route between Melbourne and Sydney earlier this year, we only needed to stop twice and both times our cars were charged to 100% before our food even came out. (By the way, as illustrated in this article, the last 20% of an EVs range takes the longest to charge and is often unnecessary.)
As an aside, for those reading this article who don’t yet own an EV or for the single EV families who are thinking about replacing their second car, it may be worthwhile to note that we no longer manufacture the Falcons and Commodores in Australia and hence we have no choice but to buy what the rest of the world sells and whether by legislation or market forces, the whole world is going electric. It, therefore, won’t be long before there won’t be much of a choice. That said, with ICE cars representing old technology what do you think a second-hand ICE car will be worth in 5 or 10 year’s time? Probably as much as a Walkman or DVD player is worth today. It’s old technology and when the world moves on, the old technology that’s left behind always plummets in value.
Getting back to the WA EV Network, yes, we all wish the WA State government made available a larger sum of money so that, similar to NSW, we could have had a network with an average uptime of 99.95% with ‘chargers that just work’. In case you’re wondering, yes, you guessed it, I am talking about none other than the Tesla Superchargers.
That said, I think I echo the sentiment of most of the WA EV community, when I say that we are very thankful for this much needed and critical public infrastructure. Although, as mentioned, we would all have preferred a slightly larger sum of money but we are nevertheless not only thankful for the $21.6 million but we’re thankful for Synergy and Horizon Power listening to TOCWA (The Tesla Owners Club of Western Australia) and the wider EV community when it came to the design of the network. As a result, it means we have a fantastic network which is fit for purpose.
By exclusively utilising only the Combined Charging System standard using only CCS2 cables and Type 2 charging points instead of the discontinued and obsolete CHAdeMO connectors, we’ll have a network that is built for the present and the future instead of the past. It means we have reliable and much faster 150kW Kempower chargers on the grid-tied portion of the network rather than the 50kW alternative. It means that with AC backup chargers every location can charge a minimum of three EVs at a time. It means we have idle fees to stop EV drivers treating the EV charging bays as EV parking bays, we have a credit card payment solution, we have a resilient system than can operate in emergency situations when the mobile network goes down, we have some but admittedly not enough drive-through locations allowing for EVs towing trailers, caravans or horse floats to charge without unhitching. We have a great network.
We have a world class network second only to Tesla’s Supercharger network and once completed, the state government will have provided most of the backbone of this critical public infrastructure for the private sector to backfill, but there is one glaring omission and that’s the inland Perth to Port Hedland route along the Great Northern Highway.
As TOCWA Secretary Harald Murphy has identified, it doesn’t make sense to have a road network that only services some towns and not others it doesn’t make sense to have an EV highway that leaves out major towns and regional centres. It’s a matter of equity, it’s a matter of access, it’s about tourism and it’s just not right to ignore and forget about places like Mount Magnet, Meekatharra or Newman to name just a few. With the WA EV Network having reached its halfway point yesterday, and with the retirement of Bill Johnston, (who said “I’m not saying no” to the proposed addition), the incoming State Energy Minister Reece Whitby has an ideal opportunity to announce the extension to the network.
It should be noted that the blueprints for the WA EV Network came from University of Western Australia Professor Thomas Braunl’s 2018 report which proposed three options for the network. All three options, included the Perth to Port Hedland route along the Great Northern Highway and the projected cost was estimated at $18.9 million, $23.6 million and $28.9 million for the Minimal, Proposed and Extended options respectively. (These were 2018 figures, therefore, if adjusted for WA inflation (All Groups) these numbers would be approximately 20% higher at $22.4M, $27.98M and $34.27M.) For reference the WA State Government has invested $21.6M into the WA EV Network.
The inland route from Perth to Port Hedland will cost less than $5 million and it needs to be announced now while we have the processes and the human and other resources in place rather than starting again from scratch in one or two years’ time. (To put the $5 million figure into perspective, just one freeway onramp costs about $20 million. To put it another way, there are 137 local governments or councils in Western Australia and some of them spend $20 million on just landscaping in one year alone, whereas the WA EV Network is critical public infrastructure that will benefit hopefully all Western Australians for not just one year but for 5, 10 or many more years into the future.)
Please join TOCWA, AEVA and the wider EV community in calling on Minister Whitby and the WA State Government to finish what they started and to complete the WA EV Network thereby making EVs accessible to all Western Australians, irrespective of where they live.
The minister can be contacted on the following links:
Please note, this article was edited on 21 December 2023. The changes consisted of the inclusion of the paragraph quoting Professor Thomas Braunl and the accompanying map, which were inadvertently left out of the original version.
Pete Petrovsky is an active TOCWA (Tesla Owners Club of Western Australia) committee member and a long-time EV enthusiast. He placed a $6,000 deposit for a Model X (#39) in 2014 but when it came to taking delivery he couldn’t justify the cost, so instead, he and his wife decided to buy two PHEVs and wait for the Model 3. In March of 2016 they bought the Holden Volt and a couple of weeks later the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and on the day it was unveiled, Pete ordered the Model 3. After selling the Outlander, in September 2019, Pete received his long awaited first Tesla, a Model 3 Performance. Despite still loving their Volt, Pete and his wife took delivery of their second Model 3 in December 2021 and a year later a Model Y RWD which two days later Pete drove around Australia in 17 days. In his spare time, Pete also runs the ‘Tesla Ahead of the Curve’ YouTube channel and is also a long-term Tesla shareholder. Pete can be reached on X @Ahead_of_Curve
I’m hoping the instances I’ve seen in the past week with regards to uneven tyre wear on 2023 WA based Model Ys is just pure coincidence rather than being widespread across the Australian fleet, in saying that it’s best to be prepared by spotting any uneven wear early and booking the vehicle in for a check and alignment.
How can you spot an issue early?
If you look at the tyre surface from the front or the rear it can be very deceptive, tyre wear may look very even across the tread and wear on the outer edge is fairly easy to spot. On the other hand wear on the far inside edge is almost hidden until it’s too late, that’s why getting a tyre rotation or inspection done 10,000kms after delivery is well worth the effort. Taking the wheel/tyre off and rolling it slowly while carefully checking the surface will show up any early signs of uneven wear.
Check the inner edges when the tyres are off.
Why bother?
If a looming safety issue doesn’t sway you to be vigilant maybe some basic arithmetic will, a 19inch tyre on a Model Y that has even tyre wear throughout its life should survive for at least 50,000kms, if you don’t correct uneven wear early the tyre is likely unroadworthy at 30,000kms, that’s approximately $800 worth of tyre tread wasted. For those vigilantly counting every cheap kWh of electricity you charge your Tesla with you may be wasting more on tyres per km than you’re spending on electricity per km. If you have a Model Y with higher priced Pirellis it’s closer to $1100 wasted.
Fitting new tyres
Hopefully you get even tread wear and a high km lifespan out of original set of tyres but eventually they’ll need replacing. Unless you can find a compelling reason to change brands I’d recommend sticking with a similar Hankook 19, Michelin 20 or Pirelli 21 that Tesla factory fitted, often keeping it simple is the best method. Without doubt most Model Ys in WA will be fitted with 19inch Hankook Ventus EvoS1 (255/45/19) I recently got a quote for these at $499 each, that’s reasonable but I highly suggest you make enough phone calls to get not only a competitive price but a tyre shop that will respect both you and your car. Hankook have also recently introduced a similar tyre specifically for Electric Vehicles called the Ion AS, in the 255/45/19 size I received a quote for $539 each.
I’m sure you’re asking this question; “Is an EV specific tyre marketing BS?” The answer will be revealed soon as one of our members is currently putting the Hankook Ion tyres through a thorough long distance test across the top end of Australia.
In summary: Keep a constant check on your tyres, it only takes two minutes while the car is on charge. Correct the reason for uneven wear ASAP. Phone around for competitive tyre prices in the weeks before you need new tyres not on the day you find your car unroadworthy.
First up the Performance, Long Range and Standard variations of a Model Y all have the major reasons to buy a Model Y in the first place: Excellent internal storage space considering its outside dimensions, good rear seat legroom, comfortable upright front seats, a high level of safety for occupants in a crash, all can legally tow 1600kg with trailer brakes, the most efficient pure electric drivetrain for its size and weight, and lastly but most importantly full access to the best and most reliable charging infrastructure in Australia, that being the Tesla Supercharging network.
The Performance Model Y $101,564 on road in Western Australia (as of 17/02/2024) Check Tesla website for current pricing 74.5kWh usable NCA battery pack 514kms WLTP Genuine range on coarse country roads 408kms.
This variation has the additions of dual electric motors, performance brakes, slightly lowered suspension and a few cosmetic additions, it also has a track mode setting if you can find a safe controlled track to let the car off it’s leash. The Performance is brutally quick when required, the brakes are extremely good and the 21 inch wheels with Pirelli Pzeros look fantastic. Unfortunately the 21s are the only wheel/tyre combo available, these consume a lot of energy. If you’re happy to drive in the Albany-Perth-Geraldton corridor the 21s are fine, if you have plans for long country trips away from reliable DC charging you will have to drive with a bit more caution.
Long Range Model Y $86,484 on road in Western Australia 74.5kWh usable NCA battery pack 533kms WLTP Genuine range on coarse country roads 464kms with 19 inch wheels
This variation is often referred to as the sweet spot; Dual electric motors, very good acceleration, the longest range battery and priced so it does receive some tax breaks for business folks. It also has the choice of 19 inch Gemini wheels or 20 inch Induction wheels ($2400+tax), the Induction wheels will reduce range slightly so my advice would be to option the Geminis and purchase a $300 set of Induction wheel covers for city driving and refit the Gemini hubcaps on long trips away from reliable DC charging. My guess is the LR will outsell the Performance by a margin of 5 to 1 in Australia, especially to those that think range anxiety is real. If I lived in a WA country town or towed a trailer more than 1000kms on a regular basis I’d consider the Long Range Model Y.
Standard Model Y $72,639 on road in WA (eligible for $3,500 state Government rebate – if no options) 57kWh usable LFP battery pack (the Ricky Gervais pack) 455kms WLTP Genuine range on coarse country roads 370kms with 19 inch wheels
Despite having good sales already in WA this rear motor only variation is still massively misunderstood amongst the public, it may be the “slowest Tesla ever” with a 0-100kmh time of 6.9 seconds but the critically importantly 80-120km acceleration is plentiful. It may have the smallest capacity battery pack but it’s LFP chemistry means the battery pack is far more flexible, the LFP is very happy being charged to 100% on a weekly basis (even daily if you “just don’t care”), it may not charge faster than 170kW like the NCA packs but the LFP has a flatter DC charging rate that is less confusing to new owners. Take note: The three fastest pure EV trips around Australia took 14, 16 and 17 days. All completed in Standard Range Model Ys.
As each month passes and reliable DC chargers installations increase around Western Australia the more the Standard Model Y will be able to travel without compromise. If you live in the Perth-Albany-Augusta triangle and don’t care about brutal acceleration or all wheel drive traction the Model Y Standard is the best choice of the 3 variations.
The only way to correctly test energy efficiency is by having two similar cars driven on the same roads at the same time over a reasonable long distance.
This test was conducted using two almost identical 2023 White Model Y Performance vehicles built in the Shanghai factory within days of each other. Both had covered over 1,600kms in the first week of ownership. Both had aircons set to 22°C. Both had cold tyre pressures of 42psi. Both had two occupants. It is crucial to note that neither car used the Williams Supercharger to navigate to and thus battery preconditioning was NOT used to avoid contaminating the results. During the test, the cars were driven no closer than 60 metres at highway speeds with the biggest gap being approximately 400 metres. Each car drove the front position for half the journey.
Cars were driven at the speed limit (max 110km/h) as much as possible with overtaking of slower traffic only conducted on designated overtaking lanes. Luckily traffic flow was generally good during the whole test.
To be clear, the test was conducted mostly on the Albany highway, a coarse road surface that’s consumes plenty of energy and is often used by Tesla drivers visiting the Great Southern.
Over the total 272km test (136kms south, 136kms north), the Performance model Y with factory fitted 21 inch Überturbines averaged 178Wh/km while the Performance model Y with the 19inch Gemini rims and hub caps (acquired from a new standard range model Y) averaged 158Wh/km, an improvement of 11%. That’s not a typo, that’s eleven percent with every other aspect of the two cars being identical.
There’s two main factors that cause the difference in energy efficiency: The 21inch Überturbines have what could be described as “sticky” Pirelli tyres, great for putting down the power and torque of the dual electric motors under extremely hard driving, but energy hungry in general driving. The 21 inch wheel/tyre combo has less smooth tyre surface and more rough wheel surface on the outside of the car. The Gemini wheels have more smooth tyre surface and a fairly smooth hub cap so airflow at higher speeds is less interrupted. If you’re a City Slicker, the 21 inch Uberturbines are fine. If you plan on long distance driving away from reliable DC charging, the energy wasted may be an issue.
Model Y Performance 21″ Überturbines
Model Y Performance 19″ Gemini
Leg 1 31 km
212Wh/km
195Wh/km
Leg 2 105 km
168Wh/km
149Wh/km
Leg 3 105 km
200Wh/km
175Wh/km
Leg 4 31 km
105Wh/km
95Wh/km
Total 272km
178Wh/km
158Wh/km
TOCWA Note: Distance per Leg is approximate
Leg 1: Byford to Albany Hwy T junction. Moderately uphill, average speed 64 km/h
Leg 2: T junction to Williams Woolshed Supercharger. Moderately downhill, average speed 97 km/h
Leg 3: Return Williams Woolshed to T junction. Moderately uphill, average speed 102 km/h
Leg 3: T junction to Byford. Moderately downhill, average speed 71 km/h
Conditions: dry 22°C to 29°C, light winds. Start time 9.30 am, finish 1.15 pm.
Überturbines (left photograph), Geminis (right photograph). Both “Since Charge” screens did not reset to zero as per normal after Supercharging???
This test was conducted by Harald Murphy and Rob Dean, two of the most experienced long distance drivers in Australia.
As you may have seen Tesla have opened up 5 sites in NSW for use by non Tesla Electric Vehicles, the first of many sites that will open up partly due to being NSW state government funded but also due to being in areas with low Supercharger use providing a great opportunity for Tesla to make better use of assets. As time passes it’s fully expected Superchargers will open up at many locations across Australia.
Dubbo Supercharger
Why is this a wise move?
As mentioned above making better use of assets is beneficial to Tesla, rarely used Supercharger stalls getting 79 cents a kWh is far better than sitting empty for most of the day.
The more high paying customers Tesla have the higher the incentive to expand at a faster pace
A highly reliable working Supercharger network is great marketing for Tesla, a good example are sites in Dubbo, Tamworth and Bathurst when we visited those locations in late 2022 ours was the only Tesla Supercharging, yet on each occasion the nearby generic DC charger was broken. Non Tesla EV drivers may soon realise that not only does Tesla has a better product in terms of charging but also Tesla is an auto maker that actually care about after sales service.
Tesla can’t build the nations DC charging infrastructure on its own, unfortunately the alternative to Tesla DC charging infrastructure is in a poor state with no signs of improving, there doesn’t appear to be much urgency to keep the equipment reliably maintained, if competition for charging dollars doesn’t motivate some changes I’m sure the various governments who hand over large amounts of taxpayer dollars to install chargers will be motivated to carefully choose who the money goes to.
The most recent Tesla Superchargers in Karrinyup, Williams and Margaret River are V3, the 2017 built Eaton Superchargers are V2. Those who’ve charged at Eaton will have noticed each charging stall has two cables, the second cable is a retrofitted CCS2, that’s the one 99.9% of WA Tesla owners will use. V3 chargers are vastly superior as each stall is capable of delivering up to 250kw depending on the vehicle battery type and size, starting percentage and battery temperature. The V2 stalls at Eaton have a maximum output of 145kw for each pair of stalls (1A&B, 2A&B, 3A&B), meaning if you plug into stall 1B not long after a car has plugged into 1A your initial charging speed will be very slow. The trick is to avoid parking next to another car if possible. The slower charging speeds at Eaton are only a nuisance on busy Saturday mornings on a long weekend. To get the best charging speed set navigate to the Supercharger and the car will automatically preheat the battery pack before arrival, on cool days this makes a significant difference to the starting charge rate. A second tip for the fastest charge rate is to arrive with approximately 10% range and depart with 60-80% depending on the distance to the next chargers. Arriving with only 10% is advice I would never give with any other type of charge point in Australia, the fact is Tesla Superchargers are vastly more reliable than any other DC chargers in this country.
Eaton Supercharger cables.
Why not charge to 100%?
Basically 80 to 100% takes longer than charging from 10 to 60%, wasting time defeats the main purpose of a Supercharger. Be aware that when a Supercharger gets busy charging may get limited to 80%, the phone app will provide a notification, if charging past 80% is absolutely necessary it can be overridden. You can read more here: Charging to 100% is a waste of time.
Don’t overstay you visit- Once your car has completed charging you have 5 minutes grace to move the car, failure to do so will result in a backdated per minute surcharge added to your Supercharger account, as the phone app will pre warn you there’s no excuse.
