HAMILTON — Prepare to see more of the trendy Tesla Motors electric cars pass through on Mercer County highways as they fill up — without a drop of gasoline — at Tesla's 100th supercharger station, which opened at the Hamilton Marketplace on Route 130 today.

The supercharger stalls — built into the parking lot around the side of a Barnes & Noble bookstore — allow Tesla Model S owners to charge their car batteries 24 hours per day and in a timely fashion: The state-of-the-art units can completely charge an 85-kilowatt battery in an hour, enough time for drivers on long road trips to visit a store or grab a bite to eat before hitting the road for another 300 miles.

Entering the Model S for a test drive, the most noticeable feature is the sound — or lack thereof. Missing was the hum of an idling engine as Tesla spokesman Patrick Jones plugged locations into the car's oversized GPS/information system on the dashboard.

Driving through Hamilton and Robbinsville, gawkers in other vehicles and on the street stared at the black vehicle, which had been customized as a Tesla Motors “performance” model.

At the Marketplace, legislators were quick to criticize the state Motor Vehicle Commission, which last month ruled that Tesla’s direct-to-consumer sales model violated a New Jersey law requiring franchise dealers.

“I plug my car in once per week and drive by every gas station I can,” said Assemblyman Tim Eustace (D-Bergen), who drives a Nissan Leaf electric car. “We want to make that possible for everybody in New Jersey.”

While Tesla is appealing the decision, customers can still visit the company’s two “gallieries” in the Mall at Short Hills and at Garden State Plaza in Paramus. However, employees cannot give information regarding pricing or offer test drives, Jones said.

In order to purchase a Model S, with prices starting at about $70,000, customers must customize and order a vehicle, with a two- to three-month wait time, on the Tesla Motors website.

“It’s not like going to a dealership, where you take the white one even though it’s not the color you want but may be cheaper,” Jones said. “There’s one price and it includes exactly what you want in the car.”

Contact Mike Davis at (609) 989-5708 or mdavis@njtimes.com.

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