Single picture of queuing Teslas perfectly illustrates the problem Australia will face ditching petrol cars

A single photo of Tesla cars queued at a charging station over the Easter weekend shows the problem Aussies could face if the government decides to ditch petrol cars. 

At least 10 electric vehicles were seen lined up in the rural town of Keith, in South Australia, with drivers waiting to use public charging stations.

One TikTok user shared a video which showed the cars lined up with the caption: 'Buy a Tesla they said.'

Bernhard Conoplia, head of public charging at charging company Evie, told Yahoo News the charging stations would have been up to four time as busy over the long weekend versus a normal weekend.

She said that simple steps, such as leaving home with a full battery, would go a long way, but it seems these Tesla owners may have learned the hard way. 

For a Tesla Model 3 sedan it takes at least 20 minutes to fully charge at a Supercharger station, meaning some owners could have potentially waited hours before they were able to hit the road again.

There are around 198,000 electric vehicles driving on Australian roads, but currently only 3,000 public charging stations nationwide. 

The government claims it is working quickly to increase the availability of fast chargers, with the number of sites forecast to double this year.

 A report bvy consulting firm Next System also found that even though Tesla dominated electric vehicle sales it was Chargefox that provided the greatest share of charging sites.

The findings came after record sales of electric vehicles, and despite concerns from some potential buyers that Australia's charging network was not large enough to support the technology.

The Public Fast Charger Network Report found Australia had seen another 397 car-charging sites and 755 new charging points built during 2023, but predicted that number would rise significantly higher in 2024.

Next System founder Daniel Bleakley said the analysis showed charging stations were already planned for another 470 locations throughout Australia and a total of 900 new charging sites could be expected during the year.

'After a slow start, growth in Australia's public EV fast charger network is clearly accelerating,' Mr Bleakley said.

'Lack of public fast-charging infrastructure is often quoted to be a major barrier to electric vehicle uptake in Australia, however our report shows the EV-charging network is actually now growing faster than the Australian EV fleet.'

The report found local firm Chargefox had installed the greatest number of electric chargers in Australia, operating more than one in three charging sites, followed by Evie Networks with 23 per cent of the market, and Tesla with 10 per cent.

Jolt and NRMA followed in fourth and fifth spot, while electric car charging stations from traditional petrol retailers BP and Ampol claimed sixth and seventh positions as their national rollout ramped up.

US automaker Tesla offered the greatest power through its electric chargers, however, with its Supercharger network representing almost half of Australia's charging network's capacity, according to the report.

The findings come after Australians purchased more than 87,000 electric cars in 2023, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, representing more than seven per cent of all new vehicles and more than double the number sold in 2022.

The availability of public charging stations was one of the biggest concerns for motorists who were weighing up whether to purchase an electric vehicle, according to a Pureprofile survey of more than 2000 Australians late last year, second only to their purchase price.

Electric vehicles are a crucial part of the government's strategy to cut emissions from new vehicles by 61 per cent by 2030. 

The NSW Government is investing almost half a billion dollars in tax cuts and incentives to drive uptake and reduce barriers for electric vehicle purchases over the next four years.