It’s no secret that the stereotypical Italian sports car is fast, fiery and molto fortissimo. But fans of fast sports cars now have a new sports car to lust after with the official launch of Tesla Motor’s first Italian store.

Situated in the heart of Milan’s upper class fashion and shopping district, the store is a few doors away from the Duomo, Lac Scala Opera House and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.

Before the store opened, CEO Elon Musk took part the first ever customer chat session with Roadster owners from around Europe, answering questions on the car, Tesla’s future models and the future of electric transportation.

Last week, Tesla celebrated the official opening of its Washington D.C. Showroom, its 16th worldwide, located a few blocks from the White House at 1050 K St. N.W.

The opening coincided with celebrations to mark the first return commercial flight into space of SpaceX’s Dragon, a company which shares Tesla’s CEO.

Milan's Tesla Store Opens up

But while celebrity guests and would-be customers in Millan were drinking premium sustainable organic wines from Querciabella, eco-business.com reports that the firm was preparing to quietly shut down its Singapore offices after a failed attempt to launch the $109,000 all-electric sports car there.

Tesla Motors Asia-Pacific director Kevin Yu admitted to The Straights Times that “Unfortunately, Singapore has not turned out to be the market we hoped it would be”

Tesla had planned that the 2011 Tesla Roadster would be eligible for a Singapore Economic Development Board tax break for customers purchasing the car.

Unfortunately, the board deemed the car unsuitable for the tax break, saying it did not meet the technical requirements but did not give specific details.

Tesla aren’t the only electric car company struggling to gain ground in Singapore. A fleet of 10 2011 Mitsubishi iMiEVs planned for testing in the country have been deemed eligible for tax breaks but will not be able to drive on the roads for another six months until the tax credits come into force.

Other electric car automakers report that they will not enter into the Singapore market until suitable governmental support is given to assist in purchase and electric vehicle infrastructure.

Until then, Singapore looks to continue to be a backwater for electric vehicle development. Let's hope it changes soon.

[Tesla] [eco-business.com]