Singaporeans pre-ordering the Tesla Model 3 don't know how they'll charge the cars yet

SINGAPORE -- A handful of Singaporeans have ordered the hotly anticipated Tesla Model 3, but charging the electric vehicle will be a problem for many of them.

Last week, Tesla took the wraps off its mass-market EV, and surprised people by announcing that Singapore would be included in the list of countries it'll ship to.

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Many were surprised because EVs have had a tough time taking off here, in part because of regulatory hurdles and infrastructure issues like finding charging points.

According to The Straits Times, at least 13 people here have placed orders for the Model 3, due to arrive in 2018. But none of them speaking to the newspaper were sure of how they will charge the vehicle, because most Singaporeans live in public housing that don't offer charging ports in the carparks.

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Some private apartments have wall sockets in the carparks, but very few have dedicated EV-charging stations, so charging one can take an average of 10 hours, compared with faster supercharging ports that can do the job in a couple of hours.

Owners who want one of those supercharging ports will need to live in private, landed houses, but a minority do in the island. According to 2014 government statistics, 5.8% live in houses -- 80% live in public housing and 13.5% live in private apartments.

It won't be cheap, either

Although Tesla is pitching the Model 3 at midmarket consumers with the affordable $35,000 price tag, Singaporeans can expect to pay about S$150,000 ($110,517) in the country, which typically levies heavy vehicle taxes to deter people from owning cars.

On top of that, Singaporeans hoping to get a nice carbon emissions rebate on the emissions-free cars may be sorely disappointed, for now.

In a new statement to Parliament on Monday, transport minister Khaw Boon Wan said electric cars may not produce emissions while they drive, but the ministry takes into account emissions associated with the electricity needed to charge them.

So in adding the carbon footprint of charging the cars, the authorities may not see the car in as green a light as the marketing material would claim.

This was a response to a story that had gone viral in recent months, involving the owner of Singapore's first -- and only -- Tesla Model S, who had been surprised that his car did not qualify for a S$15,000 ($11,051) emissions rebate from the government.

Instead, he was taxed the S$15,000, because the government had factored in electricity from the charging point.

The U.N. said after that Singapore may be the only country to include power grid emissions into evaluating EVs. The Singapore regulator later clarified that a new Model S would have qualified for the rebate, based on its factory-certified energy consumption rating, but the Singapore owner's car in question was a used vehicle, subject to efficiency testing -- and apparently failed.

The saga prompted Musk to call the prime minister of Singapore.

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