ADVERTISEMENT The Model Y became the best-selling vehicle in 2023, the first electric vehicle in the world to achieve the feat, and the first vehicle which used autonomous technology to drive itself from the factory to the house of the customer. Elon Musk-led Tesla opened its maiden India showroom in Mumbai’s BKC today.  After years of courting and dithering, Elon Musk’s Tesla has finally made its much-awaited and touted entry into the Indian passenger vehicle market, with the inauguration of the Tesla dealership in Mumbai’s upmarket Bandra Kurla Complex by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. While Tesla has no ambitions to manufacture cars in India, it will soon inaugurate another showroom in either Delhi or Gurugram. Tesla has opened bookings for its mid-size electric SUV, the Model Y. It will be offered with two options, the standard rear-wheel drive with a range of 500 kilometres, and a long-range, rear-wheel drive variant with a range of 622 kilometres. The rear-wheel drive Tesla Model Y is priced at ₹59,89,000 (ex-showroom, Mumbai) and the long-range variant is priced at ₹67,89,000 (ex-showroom, Mumbai). For an additional ₹6 lakh, the vehicles will also be equipped with Tesla’s proprietary Full Self-Driving technology—autonomous driving with minimum intervention—in the future. Currently, FSD is available in the U.S., Canada, China, Mexico and Puerto Rico. In 2013, Tesla had trademarked the name “Model Y.” Until 2019, it was widely expected that the Model Y would have the Falcon-wing doors like the Model 3, especially when Musk shared teaser images of the Model Y with the Model 3-like wings. However, problems in the production of Tesla Model Y led to its production being postponed till 2020. Fortune India Latest Edition is Out Now! Read Now This was also the time when Tesla was grappling with ramping up production. 2018 was, as described by biographer Walter Isaacson, the most agonising year of Musk’s life. The Model Y is the crossover version of the Model 3, and according to Isaacson, Musk was talked out of a more radical and unconventional design for the vehicle. Playing it safe with the Model Y is what triggered Musk to adopt a more radical design for the pickup truck. “Let’s be bold,” he is quoted as saying. “Let’s surprise people.” Musk’s conviction culminated in the launch of the Tesla Cybertruck. Recommended Stories Tesla’s India story begins with premium EV push, launches imported Model Y SUV at ₹59.89 lakh in Mumbai