After Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington during the latter’s visit to the United States, the Indian media has been rife with speculation that Tesla is finally coming to India. Reuters even reported that Tesla has identified locations for its first two outlets in India—at Aerocity in New Delhi and the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai. Posts on social media have been buzzing about Tesla also looking to hire employees in India.
But pardon me for being a bit sceptical. This is not a new story. A few years ago, Tesla had even brought a car to Bengaluru for testing and started the process of homologation, alongside setting up a small office in the country. Last year, ahead of the general elections, Musk was supposed to visit India and had even announced it on his social media platform X, only to pull the plug a few days ahead of his impending visit.
So, we’ve heard this story before. But things have changed rather dramatically since this time last year. Musk has, for all intents and purposes, become a consigliere to Donald Trump. His Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—which began as a meme during the US presidential elections and was named after one of Musk’s favourite cryptocurrencies—is no joke anymore. DOGE has gone on a brutal slash-and-burn spree in Washington, D.C., and its revelations have impacted countries like India as well.
At the same time, Musk’s SpaceX managed the frankly astounding feat of catching a massive rocket using what have been politely described as chopsticks. His Grok artificial intelligence company is going all guns blazing, as is his enmity with Sam Altman’s OpenAI. None of which have stopped Musk’s side quest to repopulate the world; it was recently revealed that he has had his thirteenth child with a fourth partner.
That is Musk, who is clearly a very busy man.
But the issue is that the Indian electric car industry has also seen a dramatic shakeup in the past few months, as Indian automotive companies have finally hit their stride in electric vehicles.
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India’s EV boom
In a space previously dominated by Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM)—the EV arm of Tata Motors, which had a 75 per cent market share until a few months ago—JSW-MG Motor now has the best-selling EV in India. Its Windsor EV has sold 15,000 units in less than six months since launch, with twice that many vehicles on order.
Mahindra’s electric SUVs, the BE6 and XEV9e, recently opened for bookings, and the Mumbai-based manufacturer claims to have received 30,179 bookings in just 24 hours. These will be manufactured in a state-of-the-art plant in Chakan, which I recently visited.
Hyundai India also launched its ‘Made in India’ Creta Electric in January and is already making inroads in sales. Its sister brand, Kia Motors, is expected to launch electric versions of the Carens and Syros later this year. Vietnamese automaker VinFast is going hammer and tongs to set up its Tamil Nadu factory and expects to start sales by August or September.
And of course, the country’s largest carmaker, Maruti-Suzuki, is preparing for the launch of its eVitara by the middle of the year.
All of this goes to show that India’s EV market is as busy as Musk—if not busier.
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India’s no cakewalk for Tesla
While there’s no doubt that Musk enjoys some advantages of scale with his gigafactories, how and where he gets Tesla products into India remains to be seen.
The government had announced an Electric Vehicle policy to entice global companies like Tesla ahead of last year’s elections. However, after Musk put off his visit, further details of the policy never emerged. The promises of a lower 15 pe cent import duty for a certain number of imports (around 8,000 units per year over five years), conditional on manufacturing in India with a defined timeframe, remain on paper.
Now, Musk’s best buddy has threatened reciprocal tariffs on India, but the irony is that even if tariffs on imported cars from the US are lowered, it won’t help Tesla as it doesn’t manufacture Right-Hand Drive (RHD) models in the United States.
RHD Tesla cars are only made in Berlin (Model Y SUV) and Shanghai (Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV). According to some reports, the Indian government has signalled its discomfort with Chinese imports to Musk. However, a ‘Made in Germany’ Model Y might arrive in India as soon as April, as online speculation suggests. Although that is more hope than anything else, limited sales could start later this year. And if Tesla signs up for the EV policy and benefits from lower duties, it could be able to price the Model Y at Rs 40-45 lakh, based on European prices, and the Model 3 at Rs 35-40 lakh.
Yet, despite Tesla’s tremendous brand image, and Musk being one of the most influential figures on the planet, at these prices, he might find it difficult to compete. BMW’s recently launched ‘Made in India’ iX1 20L is priced at Rs 49 lakh, while Mahindra’s very attractive new electric SUVs are under Rs 30 lakh. Hyundai and Maruti’s EVs fall below Rs 25 lakh. It will not be a cakewalk.
Ironically, a recent research report by ICRA said that over 70 per cent of the value of ‘Made In India’ electric Vehicles were imported, especially batteries and motors. The report did strike a positive note, pointing out that as India scales up manufacturing, a greater proportion of value will get localised—which is broadly what the government’s EV policy aims to promote, even if it is painfully short on details.
But where the report is most fascinating is in its prediction for the Indian electric passenger car market. It forecasts that EVs will account for 12-15 per cent of the overall passenger vehicle market by FY 2030, when the total market is expected to be around 5.5-6 million units.
This is a positive for Musk, because it means EV charging infrastructure will also improve to support this market growth. But in my opinion, Tesla’s delay in entering India is a miss for Elon Musk, as the competitive landscape has fundamentally changed. Then again, I’d be stupid to underestimate this man. I’ll wait until the first Tesla outlet opens in India before passing judgement.
@kushanmitra is an automotive journalist based in New Delhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
Teslas are terrible cars. India should stick to made in India EV which are more affordable and have better functionality. They will also support local manufacturing and jobs and increase India’s stature in the world.
Tesla won’t sell its cars for ₹5 lakh, will be a flop show