Copy Tesla Regional Director Isabel Fan with the company’s Model Y at its newly-inaugurated showroom, at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), in Mumbai, on Tuesday | Photo Credit: SHASHANK PARADE Nine years after Elon Musk first announced Tesla’s entry into India, it finally launched its first electric vehicle, the Model Y, in India on Tuesday carrying a hefty starting price tag of ₹59.89 lakh (ex-showroom), due to the duties of over 100 per cent that India levies on imported luxury cars. The model comes in two variants, the lower priced rear-wheel drive with a range of up to 500 km and the long range RWD at ₹67.89 lakh. At this price, it competes with Mercedes-Benz EQA, which starts at ₹67.20 lakh, and BMW’s iX1, which is available from ₹66.90 lakh. Incidentally, both the Tesla models launched here are available at less than ₹34 lakh in the US and in China. Bookings open The heavy downpour did not deter the waiting journalists and camerapersons eager to get their first glimpse of the cars at the 4,000 square feet Tesla Experience centre in Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The next showroom will open in Delhi by July-end. Bookings for the cars are already open on its website and the deliveries of the rear wheel drive will begin from later in Q3, and the long range rear-wheel drive in Q4. The company is also planning to introduce the Cybertruck in India. Both Mumbai and Delhi will have four charging stations each spread across Bandra Kurla Complex, Lower Parel, Thane and Navi Mumbai, Noida, Saket, Aerocity and Golf Course Road. Each will be equipped with 16 superchargers and 16 destination chargers. Every car owner in India will get a home charger free along with their vehicle. “The owner of the vehicle is connected through Tesla technology. Tesla vehicles direct the consumers to the charging stations,” said Isabel Fan, Senior Director, South Asia and Southeast Asia, Tesla. Mumbai will be the company’s headquarters. The company that has been testing Model Y in India for over two years has redesigned the vehicle for operations on Indian roads. The car will not have the self-driving (autopilot) feature in the country, as India does not have any legislation to regulate self-driving vehicles. “Model Y is the best-selling car in the 55 countries where we have a presence. It will take some time to cover the whole country with our chargers, but we will start with Mumbai and then Delhi,” said Fan in a media briefing. The company will also have a logistics hub and a servicing centre in Maharashtra. Tesla said it will hire talent locally for all the operations in the country. EV manufacturing While the cars displayed in the showroom were made in China, company officials were tight-lipped about where they would import the EVs to be sold in India. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed the hope that in future they would be made in India. “Tesla cars will be imported first, but we are hopeful that in future, it will be 100 per cent manufactured in India. Maharashtra has a dynamic electric vehicle policy which provides charging infrastructures, reduced taxes in electric vehicles and manufacturing incentives,” said Fadnavis. Experts have pointed out that Tesla’s entry in India will increase consumer interest in electric vehicles in the country. “Tesla’s initial impact may be more symbolic, but it will undoubtedly elevate consumer awareness, spark greater interest in EVs and set new benchmarks in connected and autonomous mobility. This move will also encourage OEMs and ecosystem players to step up innovation and accelerate investments in electric vehicle infrastructure and technology,” said Vinay Raghunath, Partner, Automotive and Mobility Sector Leader, EY India.