Tesla will open its first showroom in India next week, marking a long-anticipated entry into the world’s third-largest car market despite CEO Elon Musk’s repeated complaints about high import tariffs.
The electric vehicle (EV) maker said the July 15 event would mark the “launch of Tesla in India through the opening of the Tesla Experience Centre at Bandra Kurla Complex,” a prime commercial hub in Mumbai.
Faced with slowing global sales and excess capacity at existing factories, Tesla is opting to sell imported vehicles in India, even though the company will incur around 70 percent in import duties and other levies.
Tesla has imported cars, chargers, and accessories worth close to $1 million into India, primarily from China and the United States in the past six months.
The Indian government has long courted Tesla, even unveiling a tailored policy to attract EV manufacturers to produce locally. However, the company has so far resisted setting up manufacturing in India.
Musk had been scheduled to visit India last year to announce a potential investment of $2 billion to $3 billion, including in local production, but cancelled the trip at the last minute. Tesla has since clarified that it is not currently interested in setting up a manufacturing plant in the country.
Meanwhile, the company has filled several of the three dozen roles it advertised in India earlier this year. New hires include store managers and sales and service staff, with Tesla also recruiting supply chain engineers and vehicle operators for its autonomous driving ambitions.
Despite interest from India, there has been criticism abroad. US President Donald Trump remarked that if Tesla were to build a factory in India to bypass import tariffs, it would be “unfair” to the United States.