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Bloomberg

Tesla has opened its first India showroom as Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker looks to ply new markets and offset slowing sales where it’s already well established.
A 370-sq-metre (4,000-square-foot) space in Mumbai’s posh financial district of Bandra Kurla Complex opens its doors on Tuesday.
It will sell its made-in-China Model Y cars starting at 6 million rupees (US$69,800), a price catalogue on its website showed on Tuesday. The selling price of the model starts from US$44,990 in the US, 263,500 yuan (US$36,700) in China and €45,970 (US$53,700) in Germany.
A second showroom is expected to open in New Delhi by the end of July, and Tesla has strengthened local hiring and secured warehousing space.

But with no plans to set up a manufacturing plant in the world’s third-largest automobile market, Tesla’s entry into India is less about racking up immediate sales volume gains and more about gauging demand for its EVs and building up the brand’s image.
“It’s not meaningful from a volume standpoint yet,” said Jay Kale, a Mumbai-based analyst at Elara Securities. “But it plants the brand. Over time, as charging infrastructure improves and the line-up expands, Tesla could scale.”
The long-anticipated move comes as Tesla faces challenges in China and the US, its two core markets. The company’s sales fell in the last quarter and it is anxious to avoid a second year of declines after a dismal 2024.
The American EV maker has been ceding ground globally to Chinese rival BYD, and India represents an opportunity to grow in a relatively untapped market – due in part to a gamut of protectionist barriers.
While the Model Y is the world’s top-selling electric car, few Indians will be able to afford one. The country’s EV penetration remains under 5 per cent, and luxury cars make up just 1 per cent of total vehicle sales.
Tesla will compete mostly with German luxury carmakers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz Group, not mass-market budget-car players like Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and MG Motor India.


Musk’s company has flirted with the idea of establishing a local manufacturing base – something the Indian government has courted and that could sidestep heavy import tariffs – but so far Tesla has not committed to doing so.
India is currently negotiating a trade deal with the US, including a potential reduction in tariffs on automobiles – something Musk has been seeking for years.
It is unclear what impact, if any, the Tesla chief executive officer’s newly strained relationship with US President Donald Trump may have on his company’s lobbying efforts to lower Indian trade barriers.
The Tesla brand’s debut in India follows the resignation in May of its former head of operations in the country. But the Mumbai showroom launch is expected to follow Tesla’s playbook from its early days in China, where marketing buzz preceded an eventual manufacturing investment and sales blitz.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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While few Indians will be able to afford one, the opening is less about selling and more about building Tesla’s brand, analyst says


While few Indians will be able to afford one, the opening is less about selling and more about building Tesla’s brand, analyst says.


Tesla opens first India showroom as sales slow in China and US

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}While few Indians will be able to afford one, the opening is less about selling and more about building Tesla’s brand, analyst says

While few Indians will be able to afford one, the opening is less about selling and more about building Tesla’s brand, analyst says