US electric car company Tesla will allow competitors access to its patent technology in a bid to promote green cars. Check out their sizzle reel. Courtesy Tesla Motors

THE world’s biggest-selling electric luxury car goes on sale in Australia on Wednesday December 10 but the $100,000 Tesla sedan may have its plug pulled because its special charger is too big for most local electricity grids.

Unlike other electric cars, the Tesla cannot be recharged via a normal power point and requires a special charger to be installed at home or work at a cost of up to $10,000 — and may also need to have the local electricity substation upgraded at a cost of more than $50,000, according to experts.

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Tesla, which opened its Sydney showroom on Tuesday — with Melbourne and Brisbane to follow before expanding nationally — so far has only one unique recharging point outside its St Leonards dealership near North Sydney: the car park at Sydney’s Star Casino.

Tesla issued a map showing future charging points will be installed in Queensland, NSW and Victoria by 2016, but it is yet to pinpoint the locations.

Electric cars already on sale in Australia can be charged on 10 amp household power or require a relatively simple 15 amp upgrade for about $400.

But because the Tesla requires a 40 amp single phase charger, the Master Electricians Association says there may be restrictions on upgrading household power supply and connecting to the local electricity grid.

At a minimum, the 40 amp single phase charger that Tesla uses exclusively will need approval from local electricity network suppliers.

When Tesla eventually switches to a three phase 32 amp charger, the upgrades to the electricity system in the average home will cost close to $10,000.

Most modern households with single phase electricity supply have a maximum capacity of 63 amps, however there are restrictions on how much energy any one item can draw, and each household needs to be inspected to determine how much spare capacity — if any — there is to install a Tesla charger.

“It is highly unlikely the mains cable coming into the home switchboard will be adequate to carry the extra 40 amp load to recharge the car,” said Master Electricians Australia spokesman Greg Bryant.

Experts say the maximum single phase electrical load across Australia is between 20 and 40 amps, depending on the electricity supplier, with most requiring approval before connecting any substantial load.

In a worse-case scenario, Mr Bryant said, customers may be required to pay up to $50,000 to upgrade the local electricity substation and network supply.

“If there is not enough electrical capacity in the street, the power upgrade may not even be approved,” said Mr Bryant.

Tesla Australia spokesman Heath Walker said he was unaware of any concerns regarding electricity supply.

“Most houses can cope with (the 40 amp charger) due to off-peak (electricity demand),” said Mr Walker.

Despite the uncertainty and restrictions, an estimated 50 Australians have placed orders for the new Tesla Model S which costs between $100,000 and $220,000 depending on options and battery range.

The first car was formally delivered last night to South Australian technology entrepreneur Simon Hackett, who drove a privately imported Tesla sports car from Darwin to Adelaide in 2009 after arranging to have an eight-tonne truck with a generator follow the journey.

The Tesla Model S sedan can be driven 500km on one battery charge (similar to a petrol car) but its range is cut to less than half that if its power is exploited and accessories such as air conditioning are used excessively.

The electric car company founded in California by entrepreneur Elon Musk has been a success in the US because it established a “supercharger” network that enabled the battery powered cars to be topped up in less than an hour.

Tesla says a home recharging point can completely top-up the battery in about 10 hours.

More than 50,000 Tesla Model S sedans have been sold globally since June 2012, primarily in North America, Europe and Japan, making it the world’s top selling luxury electric car.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling

Fast facts: Tesla Model S

Price: $100,000 to $220,000 plus on-road costs

Safety rating: Not yet tested

Body: Aluminium, five-door, five-seater

Weight: 2108kg (with 85kWh battery)

Engine: Electric motor, mounted on the rear axle. Standard: 270kW/440Nm. Performance: 310kW/600Nm

Battery pack: Liquid cooled lithium-ion, 60kWh or 85kWh

Range: 260km to 500km (depending on battery pack and driving conditions)

Performance (0 to 100km/h): 5.6 seconds (standard) 4.6 seconds (performance) although Tesla claims 3.8 seconds for its latest model

Update 2pm on 10 December, 2014:

After this article was published Tesla issued a clarification stating its recharger can be adjusted to match the lower output of Australian homes, although it concedes the charge time will take longer than it would if a 40 amp charger was used and the car has a unique adaptor that is different to those used in Australian households.

Tesla issued a map showing future recharge points in Queensland, NSW and Victoria, but the company says it has no plans for a showroom in Queensland, even though a significant number of buyers are based in the state.

The Master Electricians Association says most households may be able to adapt to the unique Tesla charger once it has been programmed to reduce the power it needs to draw.

However the Master Electricians Association stands by its claim that in most states a power upgrade to the home (to enable the use of a 40 amp charger) requires approval from local energy suppliers — and that adopting Tesla’s three-phase charger may require costly electrical upgrades to the house and local substation. Tesla believes most customers will use the standard charger and not require an upgrade.

Tesla says its dual motor P85D performance model can complete the 0 to 100km/h dash in 3.4 seconds, but this is yet to be independently verified in Australia.