After years of speculation and stop-start talks, Tesla is finally getting its wheels turning in India. The electric vehicle maker is reportedly opening its first showroom in Mumbai by mid-July, marking the formal start of operations in what is now the world’s third-largest automobile market. A second showroom in New Delhi is expected to follow soon after.
While Tesla hasn’t made any public announcement yet, documents reviewed by Bloomberg and comments from people close to the developments suggest that preparations are already well underway.
The company has shipped its first batch of Model Y rear-wheel drive SUVs from its Shanghai plant, with at least five vehicles already landed in Mumbai.
Tesla has also imported supercharger parts, spare components, car accessories and branded merchandise from multiple countries, including the US, China, and the Netherlands. These early imports suggest Tesla is laying the groundwork for a full-fledged presence—even if limited in scale at first.
The price tag, however, may come as a shock. Documents show each Model Y was declared at ₹27.7 lakh but attracted over ₹21 lakh in import duties. That fits with India’s steep 70% tariff on fully-built imported cars priced under $40,000, plus additional surcharges.
Despite the cost of landing the car being around ₹50 lakh, industry insiders believe the final retail price could cross $56,000 (around ₹46.7 lakh) before adding taxes and insurance. That’s significantly higher than the base price of $44,990 in the US—or just $37,490 after federal tax credits.
Tesla’s entry into India ends a prolonged standoff over tariffs and local manufacturing. The logjam appeared to ease after Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US in February. Soon after, Bloomberg reported Tesla was planning to ship a few thousand cars to a port near Mumbai.
The broader plan might still be in flux, with questions remaining about whether Tesla will build or assemble locally to soften future prices. For now, the focus seems to be on gauging demand among premium EV buyers before scaling up operations.
