10 Facts About Tesla That’s Set to be Selling Its Cars Here in S’pore (Again)

20 years ago, if you told someone there’d soon be an incredibly successful company dedicated to selling all-electric vehicles, they’d likely furrow their brows, at the very least.

Why?

Well, these vehicles often cost thousands more to produce than comparable vehicles powered by internal-combustion engines (ICEs), and it’s difficult to make a profit unless you drive the price up.

And when you do, consumers are less likely to want to buy them. The cycle goes on.

But thanks to the persistence and cash of Elon Musk, this pipe dream has now become a reality.

Tesla is now ranked as the world’s best-selling plug-in and battery electric passenger car manufacturer, and has factories in three countries outside the US.

And soon, Singaporeans will be able to purchase one of these bad boys.

Thinking of purchasing a Tesla car but know nothing about the company?

Well, here are 10 facts about Tesla, the electric car company that’s set to relaunch in Singapore.

It Was Founded in 2003, But Not By Elon Musk

Musk has become synonymous with Tesla Motors, but the company already existed before he got involved.

Instead, the company was actually founded by American engineers Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.

They started Tesla in 2003 with the goal of finding a solution to our over-dependence on oil.

Musk, who contributed $6.5 million, later joined the company and became chairman of the board of directors.

All Its Patents are Open-Source

On 12 June 2014, Musk made a shocking announcement: Tesla will not sue anyone who uses their technology, as long as it’s in good faith. 

That’s right, Tesla’s patents are open-source, meaning its technology is free to be used by other car manufacturers.

“Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport. If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but then lay intellectual property landmines behind us to inhibit others, we are acting in a manner contrary to that goal,” Musk said in a blog post.

“Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.”

Its Cars are So Safe, One Actually Broke a Testing Machine

In addition to being good for the environment, Tesla cars are said to be incredibly safe.

In the US, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has consistently given Tesla cars high marks when it comes to safety ratings.

At one point, Tesla’s Model S achieved the best safety rating of any car in history.

It’s so safe, in fact, that according to Tesla, the all-electric car broke the testing equipment at an independent commercial facility.

Tesla Sent One of its Cars to Space

Take a look at this video:

You probably think it’s some poorly-fabricated video of a car in space, right?

Well, believe it or not, that car is a Tesla, and it actually is floating in space.

In February of 2018, Musk launched a cherry red Tesla roadster into orbit, with a “dummy” aka Starman, in the driver’s seat.

When asked about launching his car into space, Musk said: “Well, I think it looks so ridiculous and impossible and you can tell it’s real because it looks so fake.”

It Only Has Factories In Three Countries Outside the US

Despite Tesla’s success, the electric automaker only has factories in three countries outside the US.

Its first factory abroad was built in the Netherlands in 2013.

Its first Gigafactory outside the US was built in Shanghai, China in 2019, and another one was established in Germany in 2021.

It Set Up Shop in Singapore in 2010, But Left Soon After

According to The Straits Times, Tesla first set up shop here in mid-2010, before it even built its factory in the Netherlands.

But, as you probably guessed, things didn’t work out.

It left in early 2011 because it failed to secure green tax breaks.

At the time, the Economic Development Board, which is in charge of approving the tax break, said Tesla had not met ‘technical requirements’.

Even though a small number of residents here were willing to buy the car without the tax breaks, Tesla claimed the number was too small to justify the costs.

Musk Once Said Singapore Was Unsupportive of Electric Cars

And if that wasn’t discouraging enough to prospective buyers in Singapore, Musk also once said that Singapore was “unwelcome” to Tesla.

In response to a tweet asking why Tesla wasn’t in Singapore, Musk said in 2018 that Tesla tried to bring its cars to Singapore but was unsuccessful because the government was “not supportive” of electric vehicles.

Well, fortunately, this isn’t the case anymore.

It Has Recently Obtained Approval to Start Selling Cars Here

According to ST, Tesla has recently gained approval to start selling its cars here.

This comes after the government announced new measures to encourage the adoption of green vehicles in Feb 2020.

This includes the Electric Vehicle Early Adoption Incentive and the setting up of more electric charging points around the country.

Cars Could Be Priced from $145,000

Two Tesla cars have already shown up on the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) Fuel Economy website, where users can make comparisons between different types of cars.

Both the Model 3 Standard Range and the Model 3 Performance cars are available as options here.

According to ST, the two cars could be priced from $145,000 and $215,000 respectively.

That would mean that the Model 3 Standard Range would be cheaper than a new petrol-driven Toyota Camry.

And this is after taking into account expenses like the additional registration fee, certificate of entitlement, and road tax, to name a few.

But how much these cars will actually cost depends on how much profit Tesla wants to make, of course.

You Could Get a 45% Rebate on Your Additional Registration Fee When Buying a Tesla

The good news is that you can get a rebate for going green with your choice of vehicle.

According to LTA’s website, the two Tesla Model 3 cars have been given an A1 Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES) banding.

This means that potential buyers will be entitled to a $25,000 rebate.

And under the Electric Vehicle Early Adoption rebate scheme, customers who buy a new electric car will get a 45% rebate on their Additional Registration Fee, capped at S$20,000.

This means you could get a rebate of up to $45,000 on your brand-new Tesla.

According to LTA statistics, there are 41 Tesla cars in the country as at end-2020.

They are among 1,217 electric cars on the road, which account for just 0.2% of all the cars here.

Featured Image: JL IMAGES / Shutterstock.com