2020
February '20
The Model S also ultimately fell into the same ultra-expensive category as the Model X
As a hint, perhaps, that the vault is about to be opened, the Model S starts to be listed too by parallel importers.
But prices are astronomical - above $400,000 and just below the Model X - solidifying Tesla's place back in the same stratosphere as Porsche and Maserati that it so badly wanted to avoid.
Still a win, surely. Although greater things are on the horizon…
July '20 onwards Towards the end of July, job listings for Tesla service staff in Singapore mysteriously start surfacing. There is no indication yet that this will serve the local market (Tesla has regional offices).
In September, the carmaker cryptically opens up positions for senior developers. Then,
in November, it all but confirms its relaunch with a position for a Charging Manager - to helm impending Tesla charging networks in Singapore. At the start of 2021, the company will cause an Internet storm again when its job description for a Logistics Analyst states that candidates must be fluent in English and Hindi.
2021
After a 10-year wait, Tesla's grand return to Singapore is greeted with much fanfare and media attention.
February '21
Tesla's ferocious onslaught in Singapore this year has culminated in a showroom at Raffles City
On 8 February, Tesla finally acknowledges its unexplained job listings and announces that it is
officially re-launching in Singapore. One day later, its sales portal
goes 'live'. Unlike in other markets though, only the Model 3 is offered here for now.
The starting price for the Model 3 ranges from $113,000 to $155,000 before COE this time round, placing Audi, BMW and Merc (even higher end Toyotas/Hondas) directly in the electric carmaker's crosshairs at last. We've come full circle now.
June '21 The jubilation from February takes a pause when Tesla announces that deliveries worldwide for its Model 3s have been affected due to chip shortages brought on by the pandemic.
Naturally, Singapore isn't given any special privileges. Some buyers lament the delay, while others hold on eagerly and patiently to their pre-orders.
In the same breath, however, Tesla Singapore also announces that it is
opening a service and delivery centre in Toa Payoh Lorong 8 - the previous site of Tan Chong Motors' Nissan dealership. Whew. Filling big shoes indeed.
July '21
The Tesla fast-chargers at Orchard Central: Finally, something both sides can shake on
With the
installation of 3 Tesla V3 Superchargers at Orchard Central carpark mid-July, the once frosty relations between Tesla and the Singapore government show signs of thawing. The Superchargers boast charging times as short as 15 minutes - a fun fact shared none other by Singapore's Transport Minister, S Iswaran.
Then, later on in the month, the
first Model 3s are delivered to customers on a Thursday morning - five months after the sales portal opened and five
years after the first pre-orders.
The Business Times also reveals more details on the Toa Payoh site: Tesla will likely lease it for at least 20 years.
One day later, Tesla opens its new showroom at Raffles City - one of its "experience stores" - with queues apparently crossing the hour mark.
And with that, we've finally driven back into the present.
Firmly plugged into the local market
Tesla has narrowed the gap so much that even its entry-level model is priced competitively against the Toyota Camry Hybrid
Back in 2011, with bigger marques Porsche and Maserati as its direct rivals and the Roadster as its only knight, Tesla was fighting with both hands tied behind its back. Its exit from the Singapore market was at worst, a sensible admission of defeat, but in truth, a wise and calculated business decision.
Later in the decade, the Model S and X arrived through parallel importers in a similar price bracket, albeit to an SG car mart that was warming up to ultra-luxury cars. Still, Teslas remained extremely out of reach for the majority.
Armed now, exactly 10 years later, with an entry-level model priced competitively against the likes of the
Toyota Camry Hybrid,
and in a landscape much more hospitable towards EVs, Tesla is charging back in to plant its flag firmly here. We don't know about you, but something tells us that even amidst the pandemic, Toa Payoh Lorong 8 and Raffles City are going to fare quite a bit better than just six months.