Australian scientists to fit Tesla with printed solar panels in 15,000km test ride

The project will power a Tesla electric car with 18 plastic solar panels made from a commercial printer usually used to print wine labels.

The Charge Around Australia project will power a Tesla electric car with 18 of the team's printed plastic solar panels, each 18 metres (59 feet) long, rolling them out beside the vehicle to soak up sunlight when it needs a charge.

Paul Dastoor, the inventor of the printed solar panels, said the University of Newcastle team would be testing not only the endurance of the panels but their potential performance for other applications.