MUMBAI: Tesla unveiled its first showroom in India on Tuesday, marking its entry into the world’s most populous country, as Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company seeks new customers amid sagging sales in the United States and Europe.
The store opened its doors in India’s financial capital Mumbai to select visitors after its inauguration by Maharashtra state’s chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The company — which is targeting a niche but quickly growing electric vehicle market in India — said that it was currently offering its Model Y car in India and would look to start rolling out deliveries of a cheaper variant later this quarter. “This is the first launch of Tesla in India. It marks a huge milestone for Tesla globally,” said Isabel Fan, the company’s senior regional director, adding that charging stations would be set up in Mumbai and the capital New Delhi shortly.
While the showroom will open to the general public on Wednesday, curious onlookers and Tesla admirers braved Mumbai’s heavy rains to catch a glimpse of the cars on display.
Tesla has for years signalled its interest in India but held back due to the country’s steep tariffs on electric vehicles.
Musk, who once described India as having “more promise than any large country”, has also criticised its import duties, calling them among the “highest in the world”. New Delhi has offered to cut import taxes on electric vehicles for global automakers only if they commit to investing hundreds of millions of dollars and make cars locally.
Tesla has yet to announce plans to set up a plant in India. For now, local media reports say, the company will likely sell cars imported from China.
As a result, its Model Y variants start from an on-road price of around $70,000 in India, according to its website, far higher than a US price of $37,490 after a $7,500 federal tax credit.
Tesla’s India debut comes at a critical time for the company, which is seeing demand wane for its cars in countries around the world.