Tesla confirms Goulburn fast-charge station

US electric car maker Tesla has confirmed plans for a new fast-charging 'supercharger' station in Goulburn, where an eight-bay recharge site will allow owners to plug in and recharge their cars free of charge.

Located roughly two hours southwest of Sydney just off the Hume Highway, the Goulburn supercharging station has been given local approval and according to the company will add around 270km of driving range in 30 minutes of charging.

It will join the Pyrmont supercharger station in Sydney as the only standalone station in Australia.

But this is all set to change, explained Heath Walker, Tesla Australia's marketing and communications manager, who told motoring.com.au that by year's end Tesla owners will be able to drive from Sydney to Melbourne thanks to a network of stations.

"We're here for the long haul. There are many [supercharger] sites in the works," he said, noting that Australia is an important market for the electric vehicle (EV) brand globally.

"By 2016 we'll have supercharger stations connecting major cities along the eastern seaboard, from Melbourne to Sydney and North of Brisbane," he confirmed.

Although Walker wouldn't be drawn on how much the supercharger stations cost, divulging only "they're very expensive", he said that "Tesla is investing in Australian infrastructure because this is a very important market for us."

Asked if owners would ever be able to travel across the Nullabor between the eastern seaboard and Perth, Walker said "nothing's unachievable" but suggested daisy-chaining the placement of fast-charging stations between Melbourne and Adelaide was a more likely scenario.

And what about Nissan LEAF or BMW i3 owners who find themselves in Goulburn? Will they be able to snaffle a free charge-up?

"It's a different plug for the Japanese models," said Walker, who added that an electronic 'handshake' was also part of the process, potentially blocking out other models.

Globally, Telsa has deployed 415 supercharger stations, making it "the fastest-growing fast-charging network in the world". Check out the global supercharge locations here.

At present the Tesla Model S is the company's primary global vehicle, priced from just over $100,000 in Australia, but the innovative US ca- maker has plans to debut a new SUV later this year, the Model X, followed by the low-cost the Model III by 2020.