Here are the key things you need to know about Tesla coming to Ireland

TESLA MOTORS – THE electric-car company fronted by eccentric entrepreneur Elon Musk – plans to enter the Irish market as early as next year.

The Irish Times today reported that the Silicon Valley luxury car-maker, whose vehicles are beloved by tech executives, is likely to open its first showroom in Dublin.

Its director of Nordic sales, Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen, told the newspaper that Tesla was “pretty far into the process” of coming onto the Irish market. The company is also likely to install so-called ‘supercharging’ points in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast.

Ahead of the manufacturer’s impending arrival, here are the key things to know about Tesla’s plans:

Will drivers have anywhere to charge their cars?

In 2012, Tesla started rolling out its so-called ‘supercharger’ points. They are free-to-use recharging stations for drivers of the Model S and Model X cars.

Bardenfleth-Hansen admitted that infrastructural issues will pose a problem if Tesla is to open charging points in four cities throughout Ireland.

He said that it was “very rare” that the company arrives at an area that is ready to cater for each free-to-use 135 kilowatt (kW) ‘supercharger’ stand – a big difference compared to the average 50 kW public charging points provided by the ESB.

ESB charge point

Tesla claims that a 30-minute charge gives an extra 270 km driving range.

Bardenfleth-Hansen told the Irish Times that there is usually “quite a bit of digging” to make sure that the correct underground cabling is in place to set up supercharger points.

He suggested that the company may partner with restaurants and service stations that can provide toilet facilities and other amenities.

How much will the cars cost?

According to Tesla’s international website, a new Model X is available to order from €83,100 while the Model S car starts at €64,300.

Prices for the lower-cost Model 3, which won’t go into production until 2017, are currently listed in US dollars only, coming in at $35,000 (€31,800).

That said, electric cars registered in Ireland are entitled to a maximum relief from Vehicle Registration Tax of €5,000. They are also taxed at the lowest rate, which is €120.

Is there much demand?

Electric cars in Ireland are still nowhere near becoming mainstream products.

Of the 136,044 cars sold as of September this year, just 369 were purely electric, while a further 2,607 were hybrid vehicles – combining both electric- and fuel-powered motors.

Those figures are actually down on the same nine-month period in 2015, when 453 purely electric cars were sold. However, overall sales for all of 2015 more than doubled compared to the same 12-month period in 2014.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk

Globally, Tesla sales have grown steadily over the last three year and it has been expanding production to cope with strong demand.

From July to September of this year, the company shipped 24,500 cars, more than double the same period last year.

Rather than competing head-to-head with compact electric cars like the Nissan Leaf, which is priced from around €21,490, Tesla’s main competitors are petrol- and diesel-powered luxury cars for well-heeled buyers.

Fora contacted Tesla for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.