After years of deliberation, Tesla has finally confirmed its India launch with its first showroom opening in Mumbai on July 15. The American EV giant will commence operations with the Tesla Experience Centre at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex, likely followed by another store in Delhi. The launch of the actual cars themselves, however, still seems to be a while away.

1. Tesla’s first showroom to open in Mumbai’s BKC area
2. Tesla models will be brought to India as full imports
3. First model to launch is expected to be the Model Y

Tesla India entry details

While Tesla did explore the idea of manufacturing cars in India for a while, the company will begin operations with fully imported models. Despite the Indian government’s efforts to woo Tesla to manufacture locally and even drafting a new EV policy with reduced tariffs, the company has since clarified that it is not interested in manufacturing in India. So, Tesla cars, when launched, will attract the full 110 percent tariff.

Tesla’s launch in India comes on the backdrop of the company grappling with excess manufacturing capacity at its other factories and falling sales worldwide. Tesla will continue with its direct-to-customer retail model with a company-owned showroom in India, and it has hired several local personnel for store manager, sales and service executive roles. 

First model likely to be Model Y

Model Y is expected to be the first model to launch. In fact, its latest facelifted guise, which was unveiled this January, has been spied on test on our roads on several occasions.

As per a report by Reuters, commercially available custom records from January to June showed Tesla imported vehicles, chargers and accessories into India worth close to $1 million, mainly from China and the United States. The vehicles included six of Tesla’s bestselling Model Y – five of the standard range version and one of the Long range – as well as several Superchargers.

Tesla’s India launch is long-awaited by the automotive industry. Yes, the brand has a loyal fan following who are likely to lap up the models no matter the price, but for it to become mainstream, pricing will still be a key deciding factor.