Tesla holding three-day test drive event in Athlone's Arcadia Retail Park

The electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is offering members of the public in the Midlands a chance to try out its Model 3 or Model Y vehicles in Athlone this week.

Tesla Ireland is holding the test drive event in Arcadia Athlone Retail Park. It started at 10am today (Thursday, November 23) and continues tomorrow and Saturday, from 10am to 5pm each day.

Those who are interested in trying out one of the Tesla vehicles are being asked to register their interest by signing up online here.

Tesla said the event would give people an opportunity to "experience our latest Autopilot features on your local roads or enjoy in-car entertainment from the driver's seat".

It reminded participants to bring a valid driver's licence and said the minimum age to drive the vehicles was 21.

In the first half of this year, Tesla's Model Y outsold the Toyota Corolla to become the world's best-selling car - the first ever electric vehicle to claim this title.

Tesla said its Model 3, meanwhile, offers distances of up to 629 kilometers on a single charge along with features including a "whisper-quiet cabin" and the ability to remotely pre-heat or pre-cool the cabin through the Tesla app.