Tesla Launches First Supercharger In Southeast Asia Ahead Of Reentry Into Singapore

Tesla, Inc. TSLA has set up supercharging infrastructure in Singapore, the first in the Southeast Asia region, ahead of its reentry into the island nation.

What Happened: Ahead of commencing deliveries in Singapore, Tesla has launched the first V3 supercharger in Singapore, Christopher Bousigues, country manager at Tesla, confirmed on LinkedIn.

The V3 supercharger is a new supercharging architecture Tesla announced in early 2019. It consists of a 1MW power cabinet and supports peak rates of up to 200 kilowatt-hours per car.

A Model 3 Long Range vehicle operating at peak efficiency can recover up to 75 miles of charge in 5 minutes and charge at rates of up to 1,000 miles per hour. The company envisages a 50% reduction in the time customers spend on charging with the V3 supercharger.

The new V3 supercharger station is located at Orchard Central, with three superchargers available for users 24/7.

"We want to thank LTA and Minister S. Iswaran for their support in launching the Sandbox program as part of the mission of accelerating the world, and Singapore's, transition to sustainable energy, Bousigues said in the LinkedIn post. 

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Why It's Important: Tesla is looking to commence operations in Singapore after a failed foray in 2011.

After opening an office at Suntec, the company pulled out of the Singaporean market after it failed to obtain tax incentives. At the time, the company said an absence of incentives would make its vehicles commercially unviable.

Earlier this year, the company began accepting orders for deliveries of its imported Model 3 vehicles in Singapore.

TSLA Price Action: At last check, Tesla shares were down 0.42% at $641.54.

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