Despite obvious benefits, Singapore makes it really frickin’ hard to drive Tesla Cars here

Tesla cars are one of the top inventions that prove that the future is now — but as a resident here learned, Singapore is not onboard with vehicles of tomorrow.

In a rather enlightening (but disheartening) interview with Stuff Singapore, IT professional Joe Nguyen revealed that driving Elon Musk’s electric brainchildren is a rather onerous task. Being the only owner and driver of a beautiful Tesla Model S in the country didn’t come without its challenges —  he battled bureaucracy and red tape for a year before he could even take it out on the roads.

The most confusing part was that the authorities seemed to be doing everything in their power to make sure electric cars don’t exist here. This despite the Land Transport Authority providing incentives to drivers of energy efficient cars in the form of rebates.

Nguyen however managed to power past all the entanglement and eventually emerge victorious, but at immense costs. You should check out his recount of the whole ordeal on Stuff — here’re some highlights:

• Importing the car into Singapore was easy enough, and Nguyen simply paid customs duties on the vehicle.
• Liaising with the Land Transport Authority however was tough — they had not dealt with a Tesla before and kept asking for more paperwork. They wanted every single spec and other standards that applied to petrol cars, but Tesla cars didn’t. Meanwhile, his white Tesla Model S simply remained in a warehouse for weeks.
• Even when Nguyen eventually got the car to his house, it sat there for months. Every inspection appointment required a truck to transport the car, as it wasn’t licensed to go on the roads.
• When told to get an inspection at VICOM, it was another two month wait as they put testing on hold — they’ve never tested an electric car before and didn’t know how to proceed.

• Nguyen had to sign a declaration that ensured that he only charged his car at home, and not using public infrastructure.
• Infuriatingly enough, the government refused to give Nguyen the $15,000 rebate promised for all eco-friendly cars, as VICOM’s (unfamiliar) testing standards pegged Tesla as a gas guzzler. Even worse, Nguyen was charged and extra $15,000 as tax for a non-fuel efficient car.

It all make sense now about why Tesla Motors up and left after six months of setting up an office here in 2011 — Singapore’s infrastructure was completely inhospitable to their cars. So much for being a forward-thinking city.