Sustainability is important to The Business Hive in Ōamaru which is why they’ve jumped at the chance to host Tesla next week, coinciding with the launch of local community sustainability initiative Just One Thing (JOT).

Tesla leader - South Island, Sam Wilkinson will be based at The Business Hive Monday and Tuesday (17 and 18 July) to offer interested locals a chance to experience the Tesla Model Y for themselves.

“I’ve opened it up across both days from ten to four so that gives people the opportunity”, says Sam. 

Business Hive owners, Alex Regtien and Cara Tipping Smith, had the chance to drive a friends’ Model 3 when they did the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail in 2022.

The friends “had done their research and we had some really interesting discussions about the sustainability values that underpinned their decision”, said Alex. 

According to Sam, “I’ve come to recognise that Tesla is a bit of a triangle where you’ve got technology, performance and safety and right in the middle of that is an awesome moment to have”.

“It’s almost like the vehicle becomes a vehicle for conversation. Those three overlap and you end up with what is a sustainability chat in the middle”.

Sustainability means different things to different people.

“For some people it’s metrics driven”, said Sam. For others, “it’s a mindset, a how do I live a more balanced equation? If I’m doing something on one side, what am I doing to offset that on the other?”

The Business Hive recently hosted the inaugural Inspire Waitaki event with businesses focused on sustainable, environmental innovation and will host the launch of a new community sustainability group called Just One Thing (JOT), this Monday (17 July).

“I spent years working in ecological restoration”, said Alex. “I’ve seen what happens when we don’t look after our natural environment. It’s great to see a community sustainability initiative that’s easy for everyone to be involved in”. 

It’s community and a typically Waitaki kind of connection that attracted Tesla to The Business Hive and the launch of JOT. 

Sam said, “my sister lives in Maheno and she really loves your Business Hive and [she said] you know, Sam, when you’re coming through it would be really cool to connect with them”.

She “helped me understand that there’s this really cool Ōamaru community developing in and around sustainability and there’s this launch event on Monday so I really want to come down and be a part of that”.

“I think the backbone of New Zealand, that small town community aspect really props New Zealand up over other nations”, explained Sam. 

As Sam puts it, that “leaning on the farmer’s gate” mentality ties in with Tesla’s lean marketing approach. “We have this idea of meeting the customer where they’re at.”

He means that literally; “where they’re at is in Ōamaru”, as well as figuratively.

“For some people, the mindset of moving away from an internal combustion engine to an EV is a big step. For some people sustainability is something unexplored. I can understand why there’s a lot of scary stats and news out there in the world”.

“We realise that there are some really key moments that matter to people where you need that human to human connection around education and providing the right information in the right way at the right time.”

The opportunity to experience “those features and benefits comes back to that idea of that triangle where we can visually talk to you through the safety of the car or the technology of the car”, said Sam.

“Our apps allow you to see a graphical representation of how you use energy and we can teach you through the car to make your usage of the car more efficient”.

“When you show somebody energy in a tangible way, you can now talk about energy into their homes and their ecosystems and the way that they live.”

“So this conversation keeps going round and round which is really cool.”

Sign up to test drive the Model Y. Register for the launch of Just One Thing.