This Tesla will drive around Australia using only solar power

The planned journey will take a Tesla Model 3 over about 15,100 kilometers (~9400 miles) around Australia.

The journey is a part of the Charge Around Australia (CAA) project, which is set to begin in September as the University of Newcastle team behind the project continues testing their printed plastic solar panels in the meantime. The 18-meter (59 feet) long panels are rolled out beside the Model 3 to capture sunlight when it needs to charge.

"This is actually an ideal test bed to give us information about how we would go about using and powering technology in other remote locations, for example, in space," Paul Dastoor, the inventor of the printed solar panels, told Reuters.

The printed solar panels are made from laminated PET plastic that can be manufactured for less than $10 per square meter and is printed from a commercial printer originally made to print wine labels. On its journey, the team will take the Tesla to about 70 schools around the country to show them what the future could hold, and expect the trip will take about 84 days.

"(The) community is seeking these sorts of answers to the problems it's being presented with, day in, day out, around climate change," said Dastoor.

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