After being best buds following a visit at the Tesla Factory in Silicon Valley last month, real-life Iron Man Elon Musk is said to have spoken to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong over the controversial taxes dumped on Singapore’s only Tesla Model S owner.
Despite his hands full with SpaceX’s latest fizzled attempt at having their rocket make a return landing on their floating barge, Musk says he had a quick chat with PM Lee about Joe Nguyen’s ordeal with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) over his electric car.
Nguyen of course popped up in headlines over the past week for having to fork out $15,000 in additional taxes after his Tesla Model S was pegged as a gas guzzler during LTA inspections — despite being a fully electric vehicle. Following public outcry, LTA clarified that they were simply staying true to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe R101 standards.
“Driving an electric vehicle does not mean that you are not leaving a carbon footprint,” says LTA. “CO2 is emitted during the electricity generation process to power up the EV. This has to be taken into consideration when evaluating the carbon emission of an electric vehicle.”
Ironically enough, in many other countries Tesla owners qualify for significant tax breaks for driving their sleek, environmentally-friendly cars. In response to a query by Valdric Lim on Twitter, Musk assured that PM Lee is investigating the case.
Nguyen is of course thrilled over the fact that Musk and PM Lee have discussed the issue and is keeping his fingers crossed for a favourable outcome.
We’re betting some folks at the LTA are keeping their fingers crossed too — heads might roll when the Prime Minister comes around knocking.
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