Tesla’s nearly universally lauded Model S is now finally available in the European market! The first deliveries of the award-winning EV began earlier this week. The first man on the continent to get his Model S was apparently a Norwegian man by the name of Frederic Hauge — who was also, apparently, the first man to have an electric car imported into Norway, all the way back in 1989!
Shortly after the delivery of his new Tesla Motors Model S Signature Edition car, Mr Hauge was quoted as saying: “As Europe’s first owner of the Tesla Model S, I am very proud to be a pioneer.” With such a nice car, who wouldn’t be? 🙂
GTspirit has a great story about Mr Hauge:
Back in the early ’90s, Hauge would intentionally drive his electric car through toll booths without paying. It was his way of protesting the fact the Norwegian government was charging him to drive his electric vehicle.
Amazingly, after a few years of doing this on a regular basis, the government changed its stance. Electric vehicles no longer have to pay tolls in Norway. Apparently you can thank Frederic Hauge for that. Who knew?
Awesome. To be fair though, Hauge’s success is no doubt at least partially the result of Norwegian culture — it’s hard to imagine such a strategy being effective in the US… 🙂
In related news, Mr Hauge will soon have access to an impressive nationwide Supercharger network in his home country — the network will cover about 80% of the country, offering Model S owners in the country a fast, free means of charging their vehicles, as per a recent announcement from Elon Musk himself. The first charging station will be opening soon in Cinderella, Norway, just south of Oslo.