Photo: Tesla Motors
A Tesla Model S customer in Singapore got fined for an almost unimaginable reason: excessive pollution from his electric car.
It all happened after two months of turmoil with the Land Transport Authority, from which Joe Nguyen was attempting to receive a tax rebate of $15,000 and a road approval for his Tesla Model S.
According to Channel News Asia, Nguyen did not get the tax rebate and he was also fined for having a car that isn't fuel efficient. The monetary penalty is of $15,000, just as big as the tax rebate he wanted to receive.
According to Singapore’s LTA, the vehicle was tested according to the R101 standards of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The R101 standard mentioned in the previous phrase referred to the consumption of electric energy of a vehicle (Wh/km) and was then converted to CO2 emissions.
In Singapore, all electric vehicles are taxed according to a grid emission factor of 0.5 grams CO2/Wh. This tax comes to charge users of electric cars for the pollution caused by the electric grid that provided their vehicles with energy, even if they did not generate any tailpipe emissions.
Mr. Nguyen’s new Tesla Model S was considered as having CO2 emissions of 222 grams/kilometer, which classified it in the surcharge band of the country’s tax grid.
Along with the almost insane tax put on customers of electric vehicles, what’s unexplainable is the electric energy consumption of the Tesla Model S, which was measured at 444 Wh/km. This specification is not present elsewhere, and Mr. Nguyen feels wronged by the Singapore Land and Transport Authority.
The spokesperson of Singapore’s LTA specified that Mr. Nguyen’s car was the first Tesla Model S they tested for emissions. The authority’s official also determined that they had tested another electric vehicle in 2014, a Peugeot Ion, that received the maximum CEVS (Carbon Emissions-based Vehicle Scheme) rebates available at the time.
Fortunately, Mr. Nguyen might get help from Elon Musk, as the CEO of Tesla Motors has been notified of the situation. As he reports on Twitter, he has contacted the Prime Minister of Singapore, and the Government’s PM promised to look into the issue.
According to Channel News Asia, Nguyen did not get the tax rebate and he was also fined for having a car that isn't fuel efficient. The monetary penalty is of $15,000, just as big as the tax rebate he wanted to receive.
According to Singapore’s LTA, the vehicle was tested according to the R101 standards of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The R101 standard mentioned in the previous phrase referred to the consumption of electric energy of a vehicle (Wh/km) and was then converted to CO2 emissions.
In Singapore, all electric vehicles are taxed according to a grid emission factor of 0.5 grams CO2/Wh. This tax comes to charge users of electric cars for the pollution caused by the electric grid that provided their vehicles with energy, even if they did not generate any tailpipe emissions.
Mr. Nguyen’s new Tesla Model S was considered as having CO2 emissions of 222 grams/kilometer, which classified it in the surcharge band of the country’s tax grid.
Along with the almost insane tax put on customers of electric vehicles, what’s unexplainable is the electric energy consumption of the Tesla Model S, which was measured at 444 Wh/km. This specification is not present elsewhere, and Mr. Nguyen feels wronged by the Singapore Land and Transport Authority.
The spokesperson of Singapore’s LTA specified that Mr. Nguyen’s car was the first Tesla Model S they tested for emissions. The authority’s official also determined that they had tested another electric vehicle in 2014, a Peugeot Ion, that received the maximum CEVS (Carbon Emissions-based Vehicle Scheme) rebates available at the time.
Fortunately, Mr. Nguyen might get help from Elon Musk, as the CEO of Tesla Motors has been notified of the situation. As he reports on Twitter, he has contacted the Prime Minister of Singapore, and the Government’s PM promised to look into the issue.
@Astro_Valdric @TeslaMotors We spoke earlier today and he said he would investigate the situation.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 4, 2016
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