After enduring arduous COVID lockdowns in Melbourne, retail worker Ryan Cowan was looking for a change.
"I sold the house in February last year, and quit my job," he said.
"I really wanted to shake things up."
With the proceeds from the house sale, Mr Cowan and his partner bought a block of land in the country and his dream car.
"I thought, 'Well, hell with it, let's buy a Tesla'," he said.
"The small decision on a whim to buy an electric car absolutely changed my life."
Mr Cowan now makes a living producing electric vehicle (EV) content for social media, with a combined following of over 100,000 on his TikTok and YouTube platforms.
His work has even caught the attention of Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.
Why an EV?
Mr Cowan said his environmental values, love of cars and tech were what drove his EV purchase.
Although the 32-year-old said selling a house to buy a car wasn't necessarily the smartest financial decision, he wasn't motivated by money.
"From an investment standpoint it definitely wouldn't be the right decision, but we had a very different mentality," he said.
"We were just wanting to take risks."
He bought his first electric vehicle in May 2021 and drove it for 13 months.
In June this year, he decided he wanted to upgrade and managed to sell his original car for a $4,500 profit, due in part to supply chain disruptions driving up the price of second-hand vehicles.
"We completely covered our costs, so it ended up being a very small investment," he said
A new career
When Mr Cowan went to social gatherings with his electric vehicle he was inundated with questions: How are you charging it? How much does it cost? Can you go on road trips?
This was when he realised most people didn't know how fully electric vehicles worked.
He thought he could change that.
"I've dabbled in a little bit of video and thought I might just start to create some YouTube content and try to educate the wider community," he said.
A year later, he is now making a living creating and uploading videos about his electric car.
"In just such a short amount of time, it's really changed," he said.
"[I'm] absolutely loving it, I definitely pinch myself."
Having one of his TikTok videos reposted by both Mr Musk and Tesla's Twitter pages was a highlight, Mr Cowan said.
"It really got the attention of the world," he said.
"[My] following increased exponentially from that point on, and now I've got a whole bunch of clients."
In one month, he can make over $1,200 in YouTube ad revenue alone.
He also helps clients create content and has other social media projects on the go that provide income.
But what Mr Cowan finds most rewarding is encouraging drivers to go electric.
"There's over 1,000 people that I've helped make their purchase," he said.
"I get messages every day from people saying, 'I've got an electric car because of you', which absolutely fills my cup and pushes me to keep doing what I'm doing."
No looking back
Mr Cowan expects there will be a "rapid growth" in electric vehicles in the next few years and said his new career was only beginning.
"I want to be one of those people online that you can come to and learn more about an electric car," he said.
"To try and provide information around all things, electric vehicles and road trips, charging and technology and how it all works."
The social media content creator said he loved his new job and didn't regret taking a risk.
"I just never thought that I would have this type of lifestyle," he said.
"Not that we're well off, but it's just having that flexibility — it's a dream come true."
