Tess followed, but not until she'd plugged Tom back into the cigarette lighter receptacle and powered him up.

The $30 Coffee Cup Power Inverter plugs into the 12v cigarette lighter socket and up-converts the power to 120v AC.

At the Budget Rental Car outlet in Overland Park, 25 cars were reserved on Friday, said rental agent Ryan Mikel.

Toyota has scrimped on some of the basics in the base model, with only one USB charge point and 12V socket in the cabin.

The panels charge a battery bank the car plugs into when it needs a charge.

Not that you're likely leave you car plugged in that long if you aren't at home or work.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor also tweeted a photo of an electric car plugged into a generator to mock Labor's policy.

In the LA area, annual ridership is down 25 percent over the same period, as more cars plug up highways and side streets.