SINGAPORE: Tesla Inc has advertised for servicing staff in Singapore, a country previously criticised by chief executive Elon Musk as unsupportive of electric vehicles.
Listings for five jobs in Singapore on networking website LinkedIn are mainly in servicing and repair, such as a service technician and parts adviser.
It was not clear where in Singapore the new hires would be based, or whether the U.S. automaker currently has any employees in the country.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on its Singapore plans.
Singapore is one of the world’s most expensive places to buy a car and has few electric vehicles. It aims to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, and make a bigger bet on electrification to cut greenhouse gases and slow climate change.
Two years ago, Musk responded to a Tesla admirer in Singapore who asked the executive to make the automaker’s vehicles available in the city-state. “We tried, but Singapore govt is not supportive of electric vehicles,” Musk tweeted.
Unlike traditional automakers, Tesla prefers to sell its cars directly through its own showrooms.
Local dealership Hong Seh Motors on its website said it is Singapore’s only retailer of Tesla cars. It did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
In related news, Bloomberg reported that Tesla has lowered the deposit that buyers in China have to put down on its cars, seeking to keep sales momentum in the face of intensifying competition and reductions in the government’s electric-vehicle subsidies.
Tesla now requires a 1,000 yuan (RM608) non-refundable deposit for the Model 3 sedan, Model X SUV and Model S vehicle, a company representative in China said in a message today. Buyers were previously asked to pay a refundable deposit of as much as 20,000 yuan (RM12,155).
While the US company has increased its lead in China’s EV market in recent months, competition is heating up. Local champion NIO Inc. has been energized by a capital injection from a regional government and a fresh credit line from six banks, while global peers including BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler AG are bringing out new EV models.
The deposit cut coincides with the latest reduction in China’s electric-car subsidies kicking in — a move that effectively increases the price of some vehicles. While Tesla lowered the price of its locally built basic Model 3 in April to meet the tighter subsidy criteria, some of its models are no longer eligible for the government handouts.
