Tesla India launch likely as early as mid-2017

Electric car manufacturer Tesla could make its India entry as early as the middle of this year. Elon Musk said that he was “Hoping for summer this year”, in reply to a tweet asking about a launch in India.

Tesla has long since revealed its plans for entering India with the company’s latest sedan, the entry-level Model 3, with the automaker accepting reservation deposits from individuals in the country. However, with the Model 3 only expected to enter production in the latter half of 2017 and launch globally in mid-2018, it remains to be seen which model will Tesla market in India if it launches this year.

Also, a potential part of its long-term plan could be the setting up of a manufacturing hub in India, with Elon Musk already having hinted in July last year that India could be a site for a Gigafactory. In a visit to Tesla’s plant last year, Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, had offered the automaker land near major ports to set up a production facility in the country for local production and export.

The Indian EV market is currently in a nascent stage, with the lack of proper infrastructure to support EVs being a major concern across the country. The Indian government has also been taking steps to popularise the diminutive segment with incentives under the FAME scheme to make locally manufactured/assembled EVs and hybrid more affordable to the public.

When the Model 3 launches internationally next year, the car is expected to be priced in the region of $35,000 or around Rs 23.5 lakh internationally, though for India this price could go higher with the inclusion of import costs.