Good observations there @Scoonie - I returned from a week in WA yesterday evening - and did note that hiring a Tesla is one of the cheapest options for a hire car in WA, probably because of the distances between many of the towns and the lack of charging infrastructure in many parts of the state. When EV drivers DO find a charging station outside of the Perth Metro area, it may only have one or two charge points so you could be waiting a while behind other EV drivers. I have so far resisted the urge to hire and thrash a Tesla; We hired a Landcruiser 300 GXL Wagon this time, not because we wanted to go 4WD-ing, but because we had a LOT of luggage due to having a 7-month old baby with us, and all the gear that comes with that.

We have noticed that down in the South West, around Busselton, Dunsborough and Margaret River (all south of Perth), there are a fair few Teslas driving around, but not as many as I see at home in Adelaide. We did see a spot south of Margaret River where one was supposed to have caught fire and been abandoned. The road was scorched and the guard rail beside it was bent out of shape and severely scorched. Other than that, all the evidence had been removed from the scene.

Talking with one never-Tesla relative, it was clear he thought they were more carbon/energy intensive than ICE-cars because the batteries were part of the sub-frame and needed to be replaced around every 8 to 10 years, which in earlier model Teslas apparently meant you pretty-much had to replace the car when the battery lifecycle ended, and that was around every 8 years, as per the warranty. If the batteries could be changed out, owners were often quoted between US$20K and US$30K to get that done, despite Elon saying it should cost between US$5K and US$7K. [Source: https://ev-lectron.com/blogs/blog/how-long-does-a-tesla-battery-last#:~:text=The frequency of replacing a,miles, as per the warranty.]

Tesla owners clearly may have much more positive viewpoints and opinions, as Apple users have about Apple products, except for the ones who wish they'd never made the switch. But they're certainly kidding themselves and are unbelievably naive if they truly think that driving a Tesla is a carbon neutral option that allows "guilt-free" driving.

That said, I did enjoy guilt-free driving with our hired diesel Landcruiser around SW WA during the past week, not because it had a low carbon footprint, but because it was what we needed to get us and all of our gear where we needed to go, which did include a few beaches, and one of those stunning beaches could well be the same beach that FMG's Sinead Booth likes so much if she is heading south to get there.

Next week I'll be hiring a RAV4 in Tassie, again, suitable for our needs, smaller because the travelling group is significantly smaller, so not over-kill, but also not having to occy-strap stuff to the roof. I'm personally not a Tesla fan. I don't mind hybrid EVs, as long as I can still run them on petrol or diesel (or LPG) when there's no charging infrastructure available, but not totally electric vehicles. And I'd need one with some decent luggage space, and the Teslas that I'm seeing don't have that. They obviously suit some people however.