Model Why? Peeling back the layers of Tesla's Indian debut

India Today

16 hours ago

After what feels like a century of posturing, petitioning, and pouting at import duties, the electric chariot from the colonies - yes, that Tesla - has finally washed ashore in India. The scene? A rain-sodden slab of glass and concrete in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex, where influencers, entrepreneurs, and assorted tech bros gathered like moths to an LED flame, iPhones aloft, breath bated.advertisement'Huzzah,' they cried, or whatever the 2025 equivalent is on Threads.And yet, one must ask - with all the solemnity and gravitas of a man who once drove a twin-turbo V8 SUV to the Himalayas - do we really care?
Tesla, lest we forget, once thundered onto the world stage in 2008, proclaiming that electric cars needn't be glorified golf carts. Quite right, too. But that was then. Today, the company appears more interested in algorithmic comedy and subterranean tunnels than in engineering excellence. Meanwhile, the global EV landscape has moved on - dramatically, and in many cases, competently. On the global stage, with China's continued stranglehold on rare-earth minerals - not to mention their own domestic brands emerging, clearly capable of undercutting the competition - the advantages of having the scale of a billion-strong domestic market are becoming apparent.So, the question stands like an uncharged supercharger on the outskirts of Mumbai: Do we need Tesla in 2025?To answer this, your faithful motoring correspondent (me) booked a flight to Mumbai - on company rupee, mind you, since Tesla's approach to media relations makes North Korea seem chatty. An early morning flight, a floppy omelette and a minor skirmish with a taxi wallah about surge pricing and cab strikes, and there I was, blinking into the flashbulbs, searching for substance beneath the spectacle.And there it was - standing in a sea of damp influencers and glistening monsoon umbrellas - the Tesla Model Y RWD Long Range, freshly anointed for the Indian market. A vehicle that looks like an inflated Model 3 with delusions of SUV-ness, and now, at long last, yours for the princely sum of Rs 68 lakh, ex-showroom. Yes, rear-wheel drive and long range - a contradiction that makes as much sense as 'dry rain' or 'veg biryani.'Tesla has entered the Indian market, with the Tesla Model Y being the first model from the American automaker to debut here. @dipayandutta brings us more details#ReporterDiary pic.twitter.com/F6IhSPors1— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) July 15, 2025Still, it was surrounded like a Bollywood A-lister - camera phones pointed, influencers breathless, someone yelling 'Bro, shoot from the side, it looks more muscular.' But beyond the spectacle, one is forced to ask: what, precisely, is Tesla's plan here?advertisementBecause clarity - as ever with Elon Musk's outfit - is as rare as a working AC vent in an Uber Pool. No Gigafactory, no definitive plans for localisation, no real visibility on how one gets this rolling iPad serviced once it's scraped a speed breaker, or has an emotional breakdown during a software update. There are no dealerships - only an experience centre and a website that takes your money faster than a Mumbai valet at a 5-star hotel. The entire experience feels oddly like buying crypto in 2021 - full of hope, thin on logic.One gets the distinct impression that transparency was never really part of the business plan - just a heady cocktail of buzzwords, breathless YouTube reviews, and the kind of theatrical rollout that would make even Bollywood blush. Because while Tesla claims to usher in the future, it does so behind a velvet curtain of secrecy, thick enough to muffle common sense.Take, for example, the WLTP-certified range of 622 kilometres - a number flung about with all the confidence of a cricket commentator predicting rain in Chennai. And yet, when one attempts to peel back the layers - to ask the rather innocent question, 'What, pray, is the actual battery capacity?' — you're met with the same silence one finds at a roadside Tesla charger in rural Maharashtra.advertisementNo clear answer. No specification sheet. No explanation. Just vague gestures toward 'proprietary architecture' and a deep, cult-like faith that whatever is under the floor must be brilliant, because Elon said so once on X.And that's when the alarm bells start ringing - softly at first, like the chime of an EV reversing, then louder, more insistent. Because it's in these little omissions, these carefully airbrushed gaps in information, where doubt begins to bloom. A specification withheld here, a warranty quietly limited there, a press question dodged with Silicon Valley smarm - they stack up. Not unlike range anxiety itself, really.Eventually, you find yourself squinting at the spec sheet (such as it is), wondering whether the emperor is wearing regenerative brakes at all.It's not just what they're telling you - it's what they're not. And in a market as discerning (and occasionally unforgiving) as India, that's not futuristic. That's just suspicious.advertisementAnd now, to the big claim: 'Autopilot or full self-drive in Tesla speak.'And when I say 'claim', I mean that it's listed on Tesla's India website.Tesla's famed Level 3 ADAS — a suite of driver-assist features that, in America, promise hands-free highway cruising, summoned parking, and the occasional confused swerve into a Taco Bell. But, in India? Entirely outlawed. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made it abundantly clear that no car drives itself here, mostly because even human beings struggle. Between triple-parked Altos, rogue bovines, and overtakes that redefine geometry, the idea of an autonomous car surviving even a day on Indian roads is pure fantasy.So what does that leave us with? A heavy, expensive, tech-laden crossover with most of its most interesting features neutered by regulation. It's like importing a Katana and being told you can only use it to butter toast.Then there's the price.Rs 60 lakh for the base, rear-wheel-drive version of the Model Y. And before one starts shouting 'subsidies' or 'import duties' — yes, we know. But in the same bracket, you could have a locally supported BMW iX1, a Mercedes EQB, Kia's EV6, and even Hyundai's IONIQ 5 with actual customer care.advertisementOr, for that matter, something locally manufactured with an Indian badge and just as much quirk, performance, and practicality - because in India, we like our quirk, but only as long as it's useful. Cars like the Tata.ev twins or Mahindra's born-electric BE range are proving we can do world-class without the mystique. Which brings us to Operation Peacock - Tesla's oddly theatrical code name for its India entry. It sounds patriotic, sure, but in classic Musk fashion, it's less about celebrating the national bird and more about strutting one's stuff in a new market. A little dance, a lot of feathers, and very little substance. Classic Tesla - hiding in plain sight, while peacocking for attention.Tesla, meanwhile, is hoping its brand mystique will carry the day. The problem is, in 2025, the glow has faded. What was once radical now feels routine. And in India, where EVs need to be practical, rugged, and repairable by someone who doesn't have a Twitter handle, the Model Y feels like it's arrived at a party two hours late, wearing the wrong shoes.It's sleek, yes. It's techy, sure. But is it right for India? That's murky. For now, it seems to be a car for the Bangalore crypto millionaire, the Insta-famous VC bro, or the cousin who insists 'Bro, Tesla is a vibe!'(Dipayan Dutta is Assistant Editor at Auto Today with over 15 years of experience in vehicle testing, rally driving and making objectionably questionable jokes. On the Jury for Indian Car of the Year and Indian Motorcycle of the Year)- Ends(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Must Watch