Tesla setting up shop at Toa Payoh Lorong 8 property with lease term of up to 20 years

ELECTRIC car maker Tesla has leased a building in Toa Payoh Lorong 8's industrial area for its showroom, corporate office and service centre.

This was announced on Thursday by private equity real estate investment manager Firmus Capital, which acquired the property and has entered an agreement to lease it entirely to Tesla's Singapore subsidiary, Tesla Motors Singapore Private Limited, for a period of up to 20 years.

The 58,743 sq ft property has a total lettable area of 59,049 sq ft, said Firmus in a statement; its manager noted that Firmus has until now focused its investments in Australia.

The building will house a showroom for Tesla's electric vehicles, a technical support and service centre, as well as Tesla's Singapore corporate office.

The acquisition of the Toa Payoh property was made by a new fund Firmus formed in March this year. Firmus added that it is working on a second purchase within this quarter, and that it will possess S$200 million in assets under management once it completes this second acquisition.

Tesla last indicated it was setting up shop in Singapore when it put up roles for servicing staff, sales advisers and store leaders in July last year, and more recently last September; job postings on LinkedIn were seeking senior developers, among other positions, but it declined to say how many jobs it was opening up in the Republic.

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This can probably be seen as the most concrete move Tesla has made towards beginning the sale of its high-end electric vehicles in Singapore, after years of founder Elon Musk complaining about the Republic's authorities being "not supportive".

As for the property in Toa Payoh, Firmus said renovations are underway. It did not say when its lessee would commence operations.

Last month, The Straits Times reported that Tesla would operate out of the facility in Toa Payoh, but that it would additionally have "experience stores" in places such as malls like Raffles City and Jewel Changi Airport, which would allow for test drives to be arranged. It also reported that the centre was slated to start running this month.

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