Tesla Model S arrives in South Korea, from RM480k – waiting list to test drive stretches over six months!

The Tesla Model S has just been launched in South Korea, and the waiting list to get a test drive is said to stretch to over six months, according to Forbes. Two showrooms have been opened in South Korea – one in the Cheongdam-dong district of Gangnam and another in Hanam. Each one offers 10 slots for test drives each day.

It’s said that the first South Korean Tesla customers are set to receive their cars in June, so technically, you’d get your hands on the Model S quicker if you buy it outright rather than sign up for a showroom test drive. Now that’s rather unusual, isn’t it?

There are 294 EV charging points in the South Korean capital, Seoul, making up a total of 2,526 charging points across the country – all made available through public funding. South Korea also offers a 14 million won (RM55,465) subsidy for electric cars, but the list of eligible models is short and the Tesla Model S didn’t make the cut.

The Tesla’s exclusion from South Korean EV subsidy is due to the Model S taking more than 10 hours to fully charge its battery using a standard local 220 V power outlet – the country’s unique laws only subsidise EVs with smaller battery packs (that take under 10 hours to charge), not taking into account quicker charging modes.

Without the EV subsidy, buyers in the country need to cough up the full 121 million won (RM479,450) sticker price for the Tesla Model S 90D. Still, it appears demand is still sky high, as the long waiting list proves.

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