Tesla Model S electric car slapped with $15,000 tax surcharge

An electric car which attracts tax breaks in several countries has been slapped with a tax surcharge in Singapore, reported The Straits Times. The Model S - a sedan made by California-based Tesla Motors - is the first tailpipe emission-free car to be penalised this way here.

Mr. Joe Nguyen registered a used Model S he sourced from Hong Kong just before Chinese New Year. He was shocked that the car - for which he paid close to $400,000 - was liable for a $15,000 carbon surcharge. "Honestly, it's stupid," said Mr. Nguyen. "I went back to them (Land Transport Authority), and they cited a UN emission test regulation. They also factored in carbon emissions at the power station. We don't apply a carbon penalty to people charging their iPhones, do we?"

In response to queries, an LTA spokesman said, "Based on tests conducted under the UNECE R101 standards, the electric energy consumption of his imported used Tesla car was 444 watt-hour/km." To "account for CO2 emissions during the electricity generation process", the spokesman said, "a grid emission factor of 0.5g/watt-hour was also applied to the electric energy consumption".

From this, it was determined that Mr. Nguyen's Tesla produced 222g/km of CO₂, putting it within the $15,000 surcharge band under Singapore's Carbon Emission-based Vehicle Scheme.