Where to Get the World’s Cheapest -- and Most Expensive -- Tesla

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Tesla Inc.'s Model Y has been a smash-hit worldwide -- on track to rank among the top five best-selling models this year and the only electric car to make the cut. More than 500,000 were snapped up in the first nine months, but depending on which country you live in, you may be forking out vastly different sums.

Mainland China is the world's cheapest place to buy a Model Y. After last month's price cuts, the Model Y starts at 288,900 yuan ($40,500), slightly over half the US retail price. At the other end of the spectrum, Singapore is the world's most expensive place to own a Tesla: getting the four-door SUV in the island state will set you back a hefty S$142,471 ($103,800) -- and that's before excise and registration duties, which can double the overall price tag.

Bloomberg compiled the most and least expensive places to buy a Model Y, based on the starting cash price shown on Tesla's official website for each country and region. Here's the leaderboard:

“Automobiles are generally more expensive in places like Singapore and Israel due to higher taxes, duties and registration fees versus China and Europe,” said Seth Goldstein, an equity strategist at Morningstar Research Services and chair of its electric vehicle committee. Supply and demand, as well as the level of competition in the market are also pricing factors.

Indeed, buying a Tesla in Singapore could cost as much as an apartment. Cars in the city-state are so expensive because there are only a limited number of ownership permits (aimed at controlling traffic growth on the small island). Those permits must be bid for at twice-monthly auctions and allow a driver to own a car for 10 years. For a Tesla, permits rose to a record S$116,577 in November -- nearly as