Tesla’s website is now live in Singapore and accepting orders, with the least expensive car being the base Model 3 sedan from S$113k without a COE

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SINGAPORE
American BEV (battery electric vehicle) maker has finally made its return to Singapore: The Tesla country website for Singapore is now live, with configurators for its current range of cars and is accepting orders.

The least expensive car on the site is the base Model 3 Standard Range Plus, a mid-sized sedan (ostensibly a BMW 3 Series competitor, propulsion aside) which starts at S$112,845 without COE. The more powerful Model 3 Performance goes for S$154,815 without COE.

Tesla’s mode of sale differs from the conventional car dealership – it has no dealerships, and sells directly through its website, then delivers to customers and provides service at a physical location. Customers use the configurators to customise a car to their liking and place and order.

According to the website, delivery will take 12 to 14 weeks. Hire purchase options are available, according to Tesla’s FAQ, and it’s working with DBS on financing arrangements. It’s currently unknown where or how owners will take delivery of their vehicle, as the brand’s physical premises have not been announced.

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Why is driving a Tesla so different from everything else? Read our test drive or watch the video below to find out

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The Model 3 Standard Range has 320hp from a single motor driving the rear wheels, and according to the LTA website has a VES score of A1 (S$25,000 rebate). It has a 225km/h top speed, does 0-100km/h in 5.6 seconds, and a WLTP range of 448km.

The Model 3 Performance has a 505hp total from two motors, all-wheel drive, and can hit 0-100km/h in 3.3 seconds on to its 261km/h top speed. Its WLTP range is 567km.

While the EEAI and VES rebates make EVs cheaper in 2021, both cars are very competitively priced. With current Cat B COE prices of $50,000, that would mean around S$163k with COE for the Standard Range, and S$210k with COE for the Performance model, which is far less than any other luxury BEV on sale here.

For example, the mainstream BEV SUV, Hyundai’s Kona Electric, starts from S$152k with COE, whilethe Jaguar I-Pace BEV, which has 400hp and isn’t much larger than a Model 3 (although it’s an SUV) costs S$360k with COE.

Tesla’s Model S large luxury sedan, is displayed on the site but yet to be priced. The new model was recently released in the USA, and includes the 1,000-plus horsepower Plaid performance model.

Likewise the Telsa Model X, its large luxury SUV, is also displayed but does not have a price. That’s likely because both cars have not been homologated – currently the Land Transport Authority website only shows homologated CO2/efficiency scores for the two Model 3 models.

Its controversially-named Autopilot system is available and standard on all its cars. Primarily this is similar to existing radar-based automatic cruise control and lane keeping, as well as accident mitigation/autonomous forward braking.

Tesla touts certain features as ‘Full Self-Driving Capability’ although it only extends to automatic lane changes, auto parking, and the Summon feature, and the fine print below says ‘The currently enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.’.

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