Tesla Officially Enters Indian Car Market: A New Era Begins
LU AUTOMOBILES
By Mufaddal Shakir
7/16/20252 min read
Tesla Officially Enters Indian Car Market: A New Era Begins
Tesla, Elon Musk's American EV maker, has officially made its entry into the Indian automobile market with the opening of its first showroom in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai. Tesla was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon Musk joined later and became the CEO of the company.
Tesla's electric vehicle lineup includes the Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, and Cybertruck. Tesla has developed its own Autopilot and Full Self-Driving AI system. Moreover, Tesla has created a global Supercharger network to solve the charging issue.
Tesla officially enters India
The first Tesla showroom in India is now open in BKC, Mumbai. Tesla also plans to open a showroom in Aerocity, New Delhi. Moreover, Tesla is considering opening its service center/office in cities like Pune and Bengaluru. Tesla plans to setup superchargers along with charging support stations in cities like Mumbai and New Delhi. They have leased office space in Kurla, Mumbai, for operations/supply chain.
About the car model and pricing
At the moment, the showroom is displaying its all-electric Model Y SUV. The car model comes in two variants: Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) priced at Rs 59,89,000 (ex-showroom) and Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive priced at Rs 67,89,000 (ex-showroom). The RWD variant and long-range RWD variant offer a range of 500 kilometers and 622 kilometers on a full charge. Tesla said that the vehicle will also be upgraded to self-driving capabilities in the future, which will cost an extra Rs 6,00,000 for the feature to be enabled through software updates. There are about six Model Y SUV vehicles that have been imported from Shanghai. Tesla has said that it has received more than 600 orders since mid-July. Currently, the deliveries are limited to only certain cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, and Gurugram. In the future, we might see Tesla importing and selling its other EV car models.
Tesla Model Y SUV (Source: Tesla India)
Manufacturing Plans
Tesla has stated to the government officials that currently it does not have any plan to manufacture or assemble its electric vehicles in India. There is a government policy, Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Vehicles in India (SPMEPCI), that offers incentives such as lower import duty and other benefits if a company plans to manufacture locally. As of now, Tesla has not opted for this scheme. The high import taxes make the cars unaffordable for many prospective purchasers unless Tesla commits to local production under the plan. Tesla has advertised a few supply, sourcing, and component-related positions in India, indicating some interest in localizing the supply of parts, even if not immediate complete car manufacturing.