HUMANS OF ŌTAUTAHI: WILL

“I’ve always been a bit of a sci-fi fan. I got into electric vehicles when I learnt about Tesla; I found out about Tesla through Space-X and Elon Musk. That started my spiral into suddenly caring about electric vehicles, ’cos I’m not a car guy, I’ve never really cared about cars. Now I spend my Sundays at car shows, talking to people about cars, and helping people test drive cars! It’s very bizarre in a way.

“Being an early adopter has been an exciting experience. I went to Cromwell for an electric vehicle meet up in 2018. Leaving Cromwell, we had the choice of going back to Christchurch via Dunedin or coming back through Tekapo. But to go through Tekapo, which is the fastest way, you have to go through the Lindis Pass which is uphill to Omarama.

“There’s an app which tells you how far you can probably get, based on elevation and everything. It said I wouldn’t be able to get there, but it was very close. I went through the Lindis at 60km an hour, with a friend who was in a better model EV driving close in front of me the whole time reducing the energy I needed. I managed to get to Omarama with 20km spare. That was really fun, you feel like a pioneer, trying to blaze a new route, seeing if you can actually do it with the constraints. It’s a lot more fun than not having any challenge at all.

“As I learned more about EVs, I became aware of all the reasons why we should be using them, from both the cost perspective and also the environmental perspective. I have this dream of New Zealand being a nation that doesn’t import oil, and all our vehicles are running off renewable power. In 10 years’ time – ideally, 100 per cent of new cars coming into New Zealand will be electric. I think that’s possible, but it’s going to depend on how much everyone gets behind it.”

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