Tesla is all set to enter India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Tesla owner Elon Musk during his US visit last week. Stay tuned to find out how the world’s largest electric carmaker entering the world’s third-largest auto market will affect the Indian auto market and how Tesla will compete with Indian EV manufacturing.
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Tesla Coming to India: The Wait Is Over
After years of waiting and anticipation, Tesla is finally set to enter India. According to reports, Tesla will first open its flagship stores in Bombay and Delhi, two important economic capitals of India. Tesla is also rumored to have rented space for its store near the airport in Delhi and in the Barla-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, which the company has not officially confirmed.
Tesla’s Flip-flop before coming to India
- 2021: Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the import duty is the highest in the world, so they want temporary relief in it.
- 2022: After its efforts, Tesla showed readiness to import Tesla EVs to India and even hired some people for this, but later put the plan on hold again citing high import and customs duty as an excuse.
- 2024: Musk said that he would visit Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April, but later for some reason Musk canceled his India visit.
- 2025: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk during his US tour, after which Tesla’s entry into India looks more promising.
Tesla Coming to India: Where Will the First Stores in India?
Tesla has targeted two metro cities in India, New Delhi and Mumbai, to introduce its modern electric cars in India. It has taken space in the Aerocity area near the International Airport in New Delhi and the Fortune 500 company favorite Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai. As per rumors, Tesla will open its showroom in an area of around 500 square meters at both locations. Both locations are among the most premium locations in India, with corporate and retail hubs. According to the source, Tesla will initially only showcase its cars here but will not provide services.
Tesla Recruitment in India: First signs of Tesla coming to India
The first sign of Tesla coming to India is that Tesla has started its recruitment drive in India. Tesla has listed more than a dozen job postings in Mumbai and New Delhi on its LinkedIn profile and its official website, including roles like Charging Developer, Service Advisor, Service Technician and Customer Support Specialist. If you are interested in this job and want to apply then click here.
This job posting shows that Tesla is now ready to come to India. Initially, Tesla wants to start with two stores and then expand across India, which will require a lot of people to build a full support and retail network and run its network smoothly, so Tesla will also make its mark in the Indian job market.
However, this is not the first time that Tesla has hired in India, it happened in 2022 as well, but later Tesla shut down its entire operation citing high import duty. So let’s see what happens next, hopefully.
Efforts of the Indian Government to Bring Tesla to India
The Government of India has set a target that by 2030, 30% of the cars sold in India should be electric to promote green energy. For this, many changes will be made for the EV industry in the budget announced in 2025, which will benefit the industry.
- The Indian government has given a 15% discount on import duty to foreign companies to promote EV manufacturing in India if an automaker invest $500+ million in 3 years.
- The Indian government has reduced the import duty on luxury electric cars priced above $40,000 (~₹35 lakh) from 100% to 70%. Under this policy, companies can import up to 8,000 cars at a lower tax.
Under this policy, Tesla will import Model 3 and Model Y from its Berlin Gigafactory in Germany. According to reports, Tesla will invest $2-3 billion in which it will mass produce budget-friendly cars priced at Rs 25-30 lakh keeping in mind the Indian customers.
Challenges and opportunities in the Indian market
Tesla coming to India, but its entry will not be easy and it will have to face many challenges. Musk has already criticized India’s high import duty which will be a big hurdle. But the recent plan of the Indian government can reduce this trouble.
To make a place in the Indian market, Tesla will first have to compete with local and established brands like Tata Motors, Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki, for which it will have to make its price a little afforadable. Along with this, luxury car manufacturers like BMW, Mercedes and Chinese companies like BYD have already set foot in India, with whom it will have to compete directly.
To promote EV adoption, the Indian government will depend on more and more people buying EVs and is aiming to have 30% of the cars sold to be EVs by 2030. For that the government is offering subsidies, tax incentives and infrastructure development so that more and more people adopt EVs and green energy gets promoted.
Tesla’s plans for India
Tesla is currently preparing to sell retail cars by importing them, but in the future, it will be able to manufacture EVs by setting up a manufacturing plant in India. Tesla has been thinking of setting up its EV car manufacturing plant in India since 2019, but it has not been finalized yet.
If Tesla sets up its manufacturing plant in India, it will be able to sell its EVs cheaper, as it will not have to pay import duty to the government and the salary of those working in Ahi is also less than abroad.
Conclusion
Finally, by opening its stores and hiring locals, Tesla is ready to make its presence felt in India, the third-largest auto market in the world. Keeping in mind the government policies and plans, Tesla has decided to enter the Indian market, which is an important news for the Indian automotive sector.
India is also ready to change its laws and policies for clean, green, and sustainable solutions. So the patch-up of these two will create a big impact. With the most stylish and advanced technology car, Tesla will become India’s household brand in the coming time. This day is not far, but for this, Tesla will have to face many challenges. It is expected that Tesla will charge the Indian market like its supercharger.
