The story refers to a Tesla driver named Jac attempting a Sydney-to-Perth crossing via the Nullarbor Plain—one of Australia’s most remote, arid stretches along the Eyre Highway.

Multiple EV charging stations (including at Madura, Balladonia, and Norseman) went offline, leaving him scrambling.

He ended up charging his vehicle from a remote shearing shed’s power supply and described the trip as “a bit of a gamble.”

Despite the setbacks and being effectively stranded, he concluded that the experience “proved electric vehicles can work across Australia, but not without risk.”

From Watts Up With That?

Essay by Eric Worrall

“… the journey proved electric vehicles can work across Australia, but not without risk …”

Electric car driver left scrambling for power as chargers go offline on Nullarbor

An Australian Tesla driver has learned the hard way how bad the country’s EV charging infrastructure can be.

Danielle Collis
April 3, 2026 – 12:17PM

An Australian man has been left stranded in the middle of the Nullarbor after multiple electric vehicle charging stations failed. 

Jac has been documenting his journey in his Tesla from Sydney to Perth, a journey he says quickly turned into a “bit of a gamble” as key charging sites went offline across remote Western Australia. 

…

“We’re plugged in to the back of a shearing shed,” he said.

…

Regardless of the setbacks, Jac said the journey proved electric vehicles can work across Australia, but not without risk. 

…Read more: https://www.news.com.au/technology/motoring/electric-car-driver-left-scrambling-for-power-as-chargers-go-offline-on-nullarbor/news-story/93a559da76ebf3766745d3d4797d1cef

I personally witnessed the “vulnerability” of outback charging stations in a town in far Western New South Wales called Brewarrina. I had a chat to the repair man. He said he’s out there every other day, the local kids keep vandalising the charging station. He kept the van doors locked the whole time, even though he was only a few feet away.

I’m sure there are nice places in Brewarrina, but not the place where we parked. While I was waiting 5 minutes for my family to have a comfort break, two scruffy looking teenagers did a walk by of my vehicle. The thought of leaving a vehicle there for half a day, or longer if the charger was mysteriously out of order, to get enough charge to reach the next town, let’s just say it probably wouldn’t work out well for the EV owner.

For truly remote charging stations, I mean try leaving a $100,000 charger battery set unattended in the middle of any desert and see how long it stays put, especially the charging stations with expensive diesel backup systems.

Gasoline and Diesel can run out, as millions of Aussies may be about to discover. But our current “not a crisis” is more a government policy failure, a deliberate policy of shutting down refineries to prepare for our glorious green future, than a problem with the technical viability of long distance diesel transport. And with diesel if you have concerns about fuel availability en-route, you can always invest in a bigger gas tank, or load a few jerry cans in the trailer to keep you going.