Webdesk: Tesla Indian entry is finally taking shape, with the electric vehicle giant opening its first showroom in Mumbai’s elite Bandra Kurla Complex. The company is setting up a 4,000-square-foot space in Mumbai’s upscale financial area, Bandra Kurla Complex, which is expected to open on Tuesday.
The showroom will feature Model Y crossovers imported from China, with an estimated price tag of over $56,000, excluding taxes and insurance, according to a recent Bloomberg News report.
That’s around $10,000 more than the model’s base price in the United States, without taking into account federal tax credits.
A second showroom is reportedly in the works and is likely to launch in New Delhi by the end of July. Tesla has already expanded local hiring and secured warehousing facilities.
However, the company has not announced any plans to establish a manufacturing unit in India, currently the world’s third-largest car market.
This suggests that Tesla’s India entry is less focused on selling large volumes straight away, and more about testing interest in its electric vehicles and strengthening its brand presence.
Tesla Indian debut: Branding blitz or real commitment?
The long-speculated Tesla entry into the Indian market might sound thrilling at first glance, but going further, it would be more of a symbolic step rather than a strategic decision by a company entering a market of affordability issues, infrastructural voids, and issues in local production.
At over $56,000 (before taxes and insurance), the China-made Model Y is far out of reach for the average Indian consumer, whose car-buying budget is often a fraction of that price.
With no local manufacturing plans announced, Tesla’s high import duties, reaching up to 100 per cent for fully built imported cars, will only inflate prices further, making the vehicles more a luxury statement than a serious push toward India’s EV future.
For a nation which is in dire need of accessible and scalable electric mobility solutions, Elon Musk’s poutine arrival seems crass.
It seems aimed more at measuring elite interest and prestige in rich pockets than actually working the real market in India’s burgeoning middle class or making a genuine contribution to indigenous green-tech initiatives.
Additionally, it is questionable why Tesla decided to avoid manufacturing in the country.
By failing to invest in Indian manufacturing, Tesla foregoes the chance to create local employment, develop supplier ecosystems and contribute towards India with its ambitious, but much-needed, make in India program.
🚨 Tesla has announced the pricing of its first electric car in India, the Model Y SUV.
— Indian Tech & Infra (@IndianTechGuide) July 15, 2025
Base version: Rs 61,07,190
Long range: Rs 69,15,190 pic.twitter.com/XYx4TQlyEv
Critics say it is but another instance of a global titan toeing into the Indian economy when it serves its bottom line without any long-term commitment to the economy.
To recap, Tesla can get its showroom opening as a glamorous event to earn itself positive headlines and perhaps make a couple of luxury-spending consumers happy, but until it commits more significantly, Tesla may find itself not contributing much beyond a superficial branding exercise to the electric vehicle revolution in India.
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