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Australian Tesla drivers have been forced to wait in 90-minute queues at charging stations as thousands take to the roads over the holiday period.

Queues for charging stations have been spotted nationwide, including in Victoria and NSW.

The huge queues have angered Tesla owners, with many blasting Australia’s lack of electric vehicle infrastructure.

ABC reporter Phil Williams shared a video of the electric cars all lined up at a charging bay in Wodonga, on the border of Victoria and NSW on Wednesday.

‘Wodonga Tesla charge points overwhelmed with wait times around 90 mins,’ he said.

‘Basic EV infrastructure failing to keep pace with demand. Time for some serious investment for the future.’

ABC reporter Phil Williams shared a video of the luxury cars all lined up at a charging bay in Wodonga, on the border of Victoria and NSW, to Twitter on Wednesday

ABC reporter Phil Williams shared a video of the luxury cars all lined up at a charging bay in Wodonga, on the border of Victoria and NSW, to Twitter on Wednesday

In the footage, Tesla owners can be seen aimlessly standing around their cars as they wait for a charge before getting on their way more than an hour later.

There were similar scenes at a Coffs Harbour charging point in northern NSW on Wednesday, with Teslas stretching through the carpark as drivers waited their turn to power up.

Many Aussies were quick to call out electric vehicles after seeing the footage.

‘Think I’ll stick to a petrol powered car. Takes less than 5 minutes to fill up my car’s tank, pay for the petrol and to then be on my way again,’ one said.

Similar scenes were seen in Coffs Harbour, in northern NSW, on Wednesday with a queue of Teslas stretching through the carpark as drivers wait their turn to power up

Similar scenes were seen in Coffs Harbour, in northern NSW, on Wednesday with a queue of Teslas stretching through the carpark as drivers wait their turn to power up

The large queues have sparked a fierce debate between the owners of electric and petrol-ran cars

The large queues have sparked a fierce debate between the owners of electric and petrol-ran cars

‘Why anyone would want an electric car that can take up to an hour to fully recharge is beyond me,’ another declared.

‘They obviously have way too much time on their hands to just wait either waiting to recharge or recharge!’

‘So how do you travel during peak periods in an EV? Just be prepared to add 3 hours to your trip? That won’t help with the take up of the technology?’ a third said.

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‘I’m an expat Australian and this is the reason I left. We’re 10 years behind the rest of the world with EV and innovation,’ added another.

‘At least with gas engines you can fill up and be on your way in less than five minutes. The convenience factor is kinda obvious here,’ fifth person said.

‘This right here is the one of main reason why I won’t be on the EV bandwagon any time soon.’

Others called for an expansion of the charging network across Australia to solve the problem of long wait times.

‘There are eleven petrol stations in Wodonga, multiple outlets for every major brand, and only one place to charge EVs which is just outside the council offices.’ 

Another suggested: ‘Every petrol station should have to fit charging points.’ 

Others suggested the long wait times were due to the Christmas holidays, while some said it was likely the scenes in Wodonga were from a Tesla club meet-up.

How couple’s dream Tesla roadtrip turned into a nightmare after they became stranded without a charger deep in the country – as a tow truck admitted even he couldn’t help them 

A couple’s dream country road trip turned into a nightmare when they found their electric car didn’t have the right cable for a charging station leaving them stranded in rural Australia.

Bernadette and Stephen Janson from Sydney hired a Tesla Model 3 for the recent six-day journey to Echuca in rural Victoria as a ‘try-before-you-buy’ test run.

But the pair ran into trouble on day three of the journey when, with 12 kilometres of battery left, they went to hook their car up to an electric vehicle charging station in the town of Leitchville on the NSW-Victoria border.

Bernadette and Stephen Janson (pictured) hired an electric car to test out if they wanted to buy one but ended up getting stranded

The Tesla Model 3 (same model pictured) they hired didn't have a special charging cable included

The Tesla Model 3 (same model pictured) they hired didn’t have a special charging cable included

Ms Janson said she eventually spotted a tow truck that had stopped nearby and ‘rushed over to grab the driver’ but even he couldn’t help with the correct cables or any way to charge the car.

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‘But he did say he knew of a lady that lives in Cohuna with a Tesla so we called her and she told us that to get enough charge to get back to Echuca would take about six hours,’ she said.

‘It’s 2pm now and we’ve been at this (place) since 7am so frankly that’s not ideal’.

The problem was only solved after the car hire company agreed to foot the bill for a tow truck lift to yet another charging station because they had not included the extra charging adapter they initially needed in their hire car.

‘But we’re going to have to extend our road trip for another day,’ Ms Janson said.

Despite the drama, the couple say they would still probably buy a Tesla but are now much more aware of the need to carefully ensure charge points are available.

Ms Janson

Their car being towed away

Ms Janson shared a video to social media detailing their drama and showing the car getting towed away (pictured)

Bernadette Janson was stranded with her husband because of the charging issue

Bernadette Janson was stranded with her husband because of the charging issue

The Jansons tale will only become a more common story as Australians increasingly purchase electric vehicles and the government pushes  away from fossil fuels to ‘greener’ alternatives.

Electric cars made up nearly 2 per cent of new car sales in 2021 but this is expected to grow to 18 per cent by 2030, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. 

Petrol-only cars will be 24 per cent of sales by that year and the remainder will be hybrid petrol and electric vehicles made by companies like Toyota and Mazda.

One answer to the problem is marketplace style charging networks where drivers can access privately-owned charging stations across the country.

An Australian company already doing this is Chargehound, which bills itself as the ‘Airbnb of charging stations’.

Chargehound is a new initiative from Parkhound which already applies a similar principle to privately held parking spaces.

‘We already connect 200,000 drivers looking for car parking through our other platform, so it made sense to apply that to charging facilities as well,’ CEO Mike Rosenbaum said.

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‘For a lot of inner-city residents living in apartment blocks or shared houses it’s very difficult for them to access charging options.

‘That’s the benefit of a peer to peer network – we will have the largest distributed network of electric vehicle chargers in the country.’

Some estimates put the number of public charging stations needed in Australia by 2030 at 2.8million with only a few thousands currently built.

Users of Chargehound pay for the temporary parking space with the electricity included and the owner of the site gets a commission. 

Teslas were also seen logjamed at charging stations all around the UK as families set off for the holidays.

The huge queues came as rail strikes forced millions into having to take to the roads to get home for the festive period. A further 12 million cars were also expected to be on the UK’s road network on Wednesday amid the ongoing industrial action. 

Around 24 Tesla owners were waiting to charge in a Waitrose car park in the village of South Mimms, Hertfordshire, on Christmas Day.

A TikTok user claimed the wait at the station was around one hour, saying: ‘Here they all are queueing up, waiting for an hour or whatever it is for their charging. They’re everywhere.’ 

Members of a Facebook group called ‘Tesla Owners Club UK’ expressed their frustration at the queues.

One said: ‘Someone taking the mick at Tebay? Been here over an hour. Still 15 in front of me in the queue for a charger. Easily another 2 hours to wait – minimum.’

A second added: ‘We need more superchargers. I love Tesla, but this country is not up to standards if they want total electricity!’ 

A driver in Westmorland, north-west England, added: ‘Two-hour 30-minute wait for a charge. Worst journey as (a) Tesla driver. Q now 40 deep!’

At an unknown charging location, a Twitter user said: ‘UK services this week have been insanely busy for Tesla charging, currently car 15 in a queue of over 20 … but you can always rely on the British public to make an orderly queue.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Tesla for comment. 

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