Fully self-importing the Tesla Model 3 could mean its ultimate cost to put on the road comes up to $163,302

SINGAPORE — Does Elon Musk know something we don’t? Electric car company Tesla has literally just announced the debut of its long-awaited entry-level model, the Tesla Model 3 hatchback, but apparently the car will be coming to Singapore. 

According to a tweet by founder Elon Musk, the order page has now expanded to include ‘India, Brazil, SA (South Africa), SK (South Korea), NZ (New Zealand), Sing & Ireland’. 

The Model 3 boasts a 0-60mph (97km/h) time of under six seconds, seating for five-adults, autopilot autonomous driving features and a 346km range on a single charge.

Given there is literally no other country with the words ‘SING’ as the first four letters, we can safely assume this to mean the Model 3 will be sold in Singapore when it launches globally in 2017. 

Further clues can be found in the pre-order page of Tesla’s website  where you can reserve a Model 3 for the cost of US$1,000 (S$1,350). As of now, the page is accepting orders from a number of countries as indicated in the pull-down list below, and Singapore is among them. 

The reservation fee is refundable but non-transferable.

But while the Model 3 is pitched as the brand’s “affordable” car, don’t expect it to be cheap. At home, prices for the Model 3 start at US$35,000, or roughly S$47,250.

At that price, once you factor in shipping fees and transit insurance, the car’s Open Market Value (or OMV) would likely cross $48,000. Once the authorities are done heaping local taxes and customs duty on that, the final price could look fairly hefty.

BMW’s X4 xDrive28i, which has a similar OMV of $48,726, is priced at $269,800 with COE on authorised dealer Performance Motors’ website.

This means the Tesla could cost as much, although the lack of a dealer margin means the final price could be lower. Based purely on its purchase price (and an OMV of $48,000) and with no middle man to pay, the car could cost $163,302 to put on the road with a Category B COE.

Then again, adding options to the car’s price could well cause its OMV to balloon.

The main unknown is how much of a tax rebate the electric car would attract under the CEVS (Carbon Emissions-based Vehicle Scheme) ‚ if any.

The recent case of a used Tesla Model S being slapped with a punitive $15,000 emissions tax here shows that it cannot be taken for granted that Tesla’s sleek electric machines will be considered low-carbon cars by the authorities here.

Tesla itself struggled in Singapore, after appearing here in 2010. It failed to secure any green car incentives for its Roadster model, and left soon after.

Between that and the kerfuffle about the used Model S and its apparently pollutive impact, it remains to be seen if Tesla’s Model 3 can make a clean start here.

READ MORE: Singapore’s Plug-Ins
Does plug-in tech really work in Singapore? 
BMW’s plug-in twins: The i3 and i8
LTA says ‘no’ to Twizy micro-EV