---
title: "Elon Musk: Singapore Has Been “Unwelcome” to Tesla"
description: "Tesla CEO Elon Musk doubled down on criticism of Singapore on Thursday, saying that the island city-state has been \"unwelcome\" to his car manufacturer."
date: "2019-01-03"
modified: "2019-01-03"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-singapore-unwelcome-tesla"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Tesla"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "singapore"
  - "tesla"
  - "the digest"
---

# Elon Musk: Singapore Has Been “Unwelcome” to Tesla

![Tesla CEO Elon Musk doubled down on criticism of Singapore Thursday, saying that the island city-state has been "unwelcome" to his car manufacturer.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/elon-musk-singapore-unwelcome-tesla.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Kaique Rocha\</em\>*

## Unwelcome

Tesla CEO Elon Musk doubled down on criticism of Singapore on Thursday, saying that the island city-state has been "unwelcome" to the electric car manufacturer.

In response to a question on Twitter about why Tesla hasn't come to Singapore, Musk [fired back](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1080829741056159744>) with a characteristically blunt response — signaling once again that he's willing to use his public clout to feud with powerful global entities on behalf of his futuristic business interests.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1080829741056159744

## Sing Along

This isn't the first time Musk has quarreled with Singapore over what he says is unfair treatment of Tesla. In summer 2018, he [complained on Twitter](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1000258709950431234>) that the country's government was "not supportive" of electric vehicles — and then he [scrapped with a regional newspaper](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-singapore/teslas-musk-laments-singapore-electric-vehicle-stance-idUSKCN1J01BR>) that ran [an editorial](<https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/motoring/open-letter-to-elon-musk>) pointing out that the country does in fact offer tax breaks for electric vehicles.

But the new tweet is a sign of Musk's ongoing ambitions for aggressive [international expansion](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-europe-tesla-superchargers>) — and his willingness to publicly fight for a better deal.

**READ MORE:** [Tesla's Musk Says Singapore Government Has Been ‘Unwelcome’](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-03/tesla-s-musk-says-singapore-government-has-been-unwelcome>) \[*Bloomberg*\]

***More on Tesla:** [Musk: Tesla’s Fully Autonomous Capabilities “About to Accelerate”](<https://futurism.com/fully-autonomous-tesla-elon-musk>)*

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)