Originally Posted by chromedome

Go ask PM Lee?

Apparently the LTA are going through their figures again but the owner of the car paid the fine anyway so he could drive the car after months of waiting. He also had to put in writing that he would only charge the car at home.

Across the small pond in much more dysfunctional Malaysia, the government there is waiving all import and road taxes on 100 Model S cars to be brought in by an official R&D agency. Those cars will be leased to government-linked companies to test EV usage and shape future policy. Tesla gave their approval to the deal, saying they'd prefer not selling to individual customers until the proper regulatory framework and charging infrastructure was available.

Singapore is an autocratic state that makes much of its "open for business" credentials. Malaysia is an autocratic and openly kleptocratic state that also touts its business-friendly policies. Only one of them thinks a Model S spews more CO2 than a big Benz...

Originally Posted by bitkahuna

what is LTA?

Originally Posted by Sulu

(Singapore) Land Transport Authority... Ever use Google and Wikipedia, where I got my info? (OK, I admit that it helps that I travel there to visit family every few years.)

The LTA is a government mega-agency, consolidating oversight of roads, rail, vehicle licencing and public transit (including buses, subway and light rail).

Originally Posted by My0gr81

So "dysfunctional" Malaysia has a government agency "buys 100" cars for R&D purposes to shape future policy? And the government is waiving import and road taxes for those cars? Yeah right. Oh, don't forget, Tesla approved this deal. That sounds completely legit.

While I wouldn't discount either country's politician or agency leaders to be open for collecting a facilitation payment, I would still add more weight to one's that has a stated policy and stuck to it.