Harwood’s spark into the future of transport

New installation in village will help connect up the eastern roadway to a hi-tech future

Owner of the Harwood Hotel Mike Smith with one of the Tesla Superchargers that will soon be turned on.

THEY are the cars of the future and they’re coming to Clarence Valley.

For Harwood Hotel owner Mike Smith, he sees the opening of a Tesla Supercharger Station at his pub as a way of getting in on the ground floor of the electric revolution.

Tesla’s fast-chargers will shortly be up and running, which Mr Smith says will complete the electric vehicle charging corridor along the east coast for Tesla owners.

“This Tesla Supercharger Station completes the link between Cairns and Melbourne. You can drive up and down the coast and there’s charging points all the way along,” he said.

“It’s a real easy link for the highway, and for us it make sense. You’ve always got to be trying something different and reinventing yourself. ”

The Tesla Supercharger Station, of which there are around 35 already in Australia, can charge up to 270kms in half an hour, and Mr Smith said it was a perfect amount of time for people to come into the pub while waiting.

Owner of the Harwood Hotel Mike Smith with one of the Tesla Superchargers that will soon be turned on.

“That’s the idea, come in, have a feed and keep going,” he said.

“You make it a destination – people can look and say we’ll pull in at Harwood and then they’re off again. “We’ve got that position close to the highway, and not everyone wants to pull into a service centre.”

“When it gets up and going there’ll definitely be a few Teslas around for people to come and look at,” he said.

“It’s the way of the future. I heard this morning that by 2030 the entire Sydney bus fleet will be electric, and that’s only nine years away. It’s definitely coming.

“For us, especially after COVID, it’s about adapting. Pubs are not the traditional pubs they used to be, it’s about destinations and food now. The whole landscape has changed.”

The Harwood Hotel Tesla Supercharger station boasts four Superchargers.

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