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In early February, the Tesla Owners Club Singapore\u00a0wrote\u00a0to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) voicing safety concerns over the installation of external lithium battery systems to power on-board units (OBUs) that must be\u00a0installed in all vehicles here by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n
The letter raised concerns over the risks of installing a continuously charged lithium battery system that \u201clacks a visible active cooling or thermal management subsystem\u201d inside Tesla cabins, highlighting among other things the fire hazard if the battery overheats.<\/p>\n
Responding to queries from The Straits Times regarding this, LTA on Feb 20 clarified that the external battery device complies with international safety standards for electronic devices, and does not charge continuously.<\/p>\n
To work reliably, OBUs require a constant power supply, which is available for most vehicles on the road today. However, some electric motorcycles and cars \u2013 and Teslas in particular \u2013 do not have such a feature.<\/p>\n
LTA added that it landed on equipping Tesla cars with an external battery device after working with Tesla Singapore for a workable solution.<\/p>\n
From Jan 1, 2027, it will be mandatory for Singapore-registered vehicles to be fitted with the OBU as the country switches fully to the\u00a0next-generation Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system.<\/p>\n
Since Dec 2, 2024, Tesla cars delivered to customers with pre-fitted OBUs have been equipped with the iRoad Powerpack Pro 12, made by a South Korean company known for in-car cameras.<\/p>\n
From January 2026, older Teslas that need to retrofit OBUs after delivery will use a customised external battery device, which was developed by local engineering company Hope Technik.<\/p>\n
It uses lithium iron phosphate battery cells, similar to the iRoad model. LTA said that such batteries are also used by major electric vehicle manufacturers.<\/p>\n
The installation of the OBU and external battery system for Teslas has to be done by Indeco Engineers, and there is no charge if the installation is done within three months of a final reminder sent by LTA. This reminder will be sent from February to owners who have yet to get the devices installed.<\/p>\n
Like the OBU, the customised device is tested against the International Electrotechnical Commission\u2019s IEC-60068 and IEC-60529 standards \u2013 to withstand environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, vibration and shock, and for resistance to dust and water, respectively.<\/p>\n
LTA added that these standards are widely used to assess the operational reliability of electronic devices.<\/p>\n
So far, around 4,200 Tesla cars have been fitted with the iRoad model and 380 have the customised unit. As at the end of 2025, there are 8,635 Teslas in Singapore. In total, about 930,000 vehicles, or 93 per cent of the vehicle population, have been fitted with OBUs.<\/p>\n
Correction note:\u00a0<\/b>This story has been edited to clarify that Tesla owners have a three-month window from LTA\u2019s final reminder issued from February 2026 for the free installation of the OBU and external battery system.<\/p>\n
Note: <\/i><\/b>This article was written by Lee Nian Tjoe and first appeared in The Straits Times on 22 February 2026.<\/i><\/p>\n
Source: The Straits Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n