The relaunch of Tesla in Singapore is gaining pace, with the official website (replete with pricing) now live and a service centre in Toa Payoh due to begin operations this month. Now, The Straits Times is reporting that the first Superchargers are now operational in the island republic.
Three of these high-speed DC charging points – the first in Southeast Asia, said Tesla country manager Christopher Bousigues on LinkedIn – have been installed in the ninth-floor carpark of the Orchard Central shopping mall along Orchard Road. They are of the latest V3 variety, providing up to 250 kW of power, slashing the average charging time down to just 15 minutes. More Superchargers will be made available to our southern neighbours in the coming months, the report stated.
Singapore’s transport minister S Iswaran said that the Superchargers were approved by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) under a “regulatory sandbox” launched this month, aimed at accommodating technologies that are set to be included in the country’s national charging standard. He added that the LTA has been engaging companies to submit specific sandbox applications for a case-by-case assessment.
For now, the use of the chargers is limited to Tesla owners. The Silicon Valley carmaker’s CEO Elon Musk has recently confirmed that the global Supercharger network will gradually be opened up to users of other electric vehicles starting later this year.
Currently, the network consists of over 25,000 chargers at more than 2,700 locations around the world. It should be noted that Teslas sold in Singapore, like Europe, utilise the common Combined Charging System (CCS) connector rather than the proprietary plug used in the United States, which should smoothen the opening up of the chargers to other EVs.
The decision to install Superchargers in shopping malls tracks with Tesla’s strategy of opening “experience stores” in these locations instead of standalone showrooms, with Raffles City and Jewel Changi Airport being two of the malls being earmarked. Of course, you can simply order your car online using the sales portal, instead of having to go to the stores.
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Many stay at flat and low facilities apartment. Need to charge at shopping mall? Better get a conventional petrol car. Furthermore what for take 9 years 90% loan to showw off with Tesla.
Cant afford it? Cry more
Plenty of sinkies are cryin
Most of Singaporean cannot afford a car. Better continue with MRT and get free aircond there. Else go shopping center also ok