For years, Irish Tesla fans have looked on with envy as the UK and elsewhere gets to officially buy the electric vehicles (EVs), but now we know they’re coming to Ireland, with the news coming straight from the horse’s mouth.

For Tesla, 2017 is going to be the year when it rolls out its first affordable EV, the Model 3, which will set back someone $35,000 (€32,000), compared with the $100,000-plus that one of its Model S or Model X cars will set you back.

But, in the last few years, only a limited few nations have even had the chance to own one –at least officially – due to Tesla’s desire to slowly roll out its infrastructure of charging stations, which allow a Tesla owner to charge their car for free.

Now, the company’s founder has sent EV enthusiasts into a spin with confirmation that Tesla will begin selling its cars in Ireland, officially, before the end of 2016.

Given how small a market it is for Tesla, it’s of no surprise that it did not get a grandiose announcement, rather it was a response on Twitter from Elon Musk to user Ruairí McLoughlin.

After a quick check on Tesla’s own map of its charging points – referred to as Superchargers – it does show that four Superchargers are designated for installation by the end of this year on the island, in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast.

While Tesla cars are able to charge off the existing charging point infrastructure established and run by ESB Networks, Tesla’s own charging points will be established to work with its own technology.

Currently, according to Irish vehicle registration statistics, there are three Tesla cars registered in Ireland, most likely ordered from the UK, where they have been on sale for some time.

We have reached out to Tesla to receive official confirmation of a date or any information for Irish drivers and will update accordingly.

Update:

An official spokesperson for Tesla responded to our request for more information by saying Musk’s comment is the only comment expected as of yet. The same goes for the opening of the four Supercharger stations.

Tesla logo image via Duncan Rawlinson/Flickr