Tesla enters India with $70,000 car, first showroom
The company — which is targeting a niche but quickly growing electric vehicle market in India — said that it was currently offering its Model Y car in India and would look to start rolling out deliveries of a cheaper variant later this quarter. 'This is the first launch of Tesla in India. It marks a huge milestone for Tesla globally,' said Isabel Fan, the company's senior regional director, adding that charging stations would be set up in Mumbai and the capital New Delhi shortly. At the media-only event at the showroom, Tesla displayed two Model Y cars made in China and its supercharger, which it will install at eight different locations in Mumbai and in and around New Delhi.
While the showroom will open to the general public on Wednesday, curious onlookers and Tesla admirers braved Mumbai's heavy rains to catch a glimpse of the cars on display. Tesla has for years signaled its interest in India but held back due to the country's steep tariffs on electric vehicles. Musk, who once described India as having 'more promise than any large country', has also criticized its import duties, calling them among the 'highest in the world'.
New Delhi has offered to cut import taxes on electric vehicles for global automakers only if they commit to investing hundreds of millions of dollars and make cars locally. Tesla has yet to announce plans to set up a plant in India. For now, local media
reports say, the company will likely sell cars imported from China. As a result, its Model Y variants start from an on-road price of around $70,000 in India, according to its website, far higher than a US price of $37,490 after a $7,500 federal tax credit.
The company's Full Self-Driving capability is on offer at an additional cost of 600,000 rupees, but the website said that 'active driver supervision' will be required, and the current features do not make the vehicle autonomous. Although India's road infrastructure has improved, traffic discipline – like lane driving — is still rudimentary, EV chargers are far and few and stray animals, including cattle, and potholes on the road are a big hurdle, even in cities.
Tesla's India debut comes at a critical time for the company, which is seeing demand wane for its cars in countries around the world. The recent slump in Tesla's sales partly reflects the highly competitive nature of the EV market, which the company once dominated but now also features BYD and other low-cost Chinese players. While Tesla is looking to tap the world's third-biggest car market, experts say it is unlikely to see huge volumes in the short-term due to the nascent nature of India's EV industry and the hefty price tag of its vehicles.
India's EV market is fast-growing but remains small, with automakers reporting sales of around 100,000 vehicles in 2024 or less than three percent of total car sales. Soumen Mandal, a senior analyst at Counterpoint, said the high price tag will likely place it out of the price range of most Indian customers and see it compete against offerings from luxury carmakers instead. 'We don't expect Tesla to play the volume game right away given the price tag,' Mandal told AFP. 'We project 500-700 units sold in initial months and then that to taper off to 200-300 (per month).'
India is currently negotiating a trade deal with the United States, including a potential reduction in tariffs on automobiles. In February, Musk held a one-on-one meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington. 'In the future we wish to see R&D and manufacturing done in India, and I am sure at an appropriate stage Tesla will think about it,' Fadnavis told reporters outside the new Tesla outlet. – Agencies
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
3 hours ago
- Arab Times
Pakistan and US reach a trade deal to develop oil reserves and reduce tariffs
ISLAMABAD, July 31, (AP):The United States and Pakistan reached a trade agreement expected to allow Washington to help develop Pakistan's largely untapped oil reserves and lower tariffs for the South Asian country, officials from both nations said Thursday. Officials did not specify where the exploration would take place, but most of Pakistan's reserves are believed to be in the insurgency-hit southwestern province of Balochistan, where separatists say the province's natural resources are being exploited by the central government in Islamabad. "We have just concluded a deal with the country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive oil reserves,' U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership,' Trump added. "Who knows, maybe they'll be selling oil to India someday!' Total U.S. trade with Pakistan was an estimated $7.3 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the United States Representative, which said on its website that U.S. exports to Pakistan in 2024 were $2.1 billion, up 4.4% ($90.9 million) from 2023. U.S. imports from Pakistan totaled $5.1 billion in 2024, up 4.9% ($238.7 million) from 2023, it said. There was no immediate comment from the Baloch nationalists and separatist groups. Balochistan has long been the center of violence mostly blamed on groups including the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, or BLA, which the U.S. designated a terrorist organization in 2019. Separatists in Balochistan have opposed the extraction of resources by Pakistani and foreign firms and have targeted Pakistani security forces and Chinese nationals working on multibillion-dollar projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Oil reserves are also thought to exist in the southern Sindh, eastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the "long-awaited' deal and thanked Trump for playing a key role in finalizing it. Pakistan had been pursuing a trade agreement since May, when Trump mediated a ceasefire between Pakistan and India following an escalation triggered by Indian airstrikes on Pakistani territory in response to the killing of 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan's Finance Ministry said in a statement early Thursday the agreement aims to boost bilateral trade, expand market access, attract investment and foster cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The breakthrough came during a meeting in Washington between Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and senior U.S. officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer. The deal includes a reduction in reciprocal tariffs, particularly on Pakistani exports to the U.S., the statement from the ministry said. "The agreement enhances Pakistan's access to the U.S. market and vice versa,' it said. The agreement is also expected to spur increased U.S. investment in Pakistan's infrastructure and development projects, it added.
Arab Times
5 hours ago
- Arab Times
Apple set to launch first foldable iPhone in 2026
NEW YORK, July 31: Apple is anticipated to unveil its first foldable iPhone next year, marking a bold shift that could bring the tech giant a sales boost of around $65 billion. Analysts at Wall Street firm JP Morgan revealed on Tuesday that the long-awaited foldable device will be part of the iPhone 18 series, scheduled for release in September 2026, with a projected price of $1,999. The new phone, designed in a book-style fold similar to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold lineup, will position Apple alongside Samsung, which has been selling foldable smartphones since 2019. While Apple has yet to confirm the launch, JP Morgan closely follows the company's developments and views the foldable iPhone as a natural progression following the eventual slowdown of the iPhone 17's sales cycle. Historically, Apple has taken existing technologies—such as smartwatches and tablets—and popularized them for the mainstream market. JP Morgan expects this trend to continue with foldable smartphones, forecasting significant growth in the market driven by Apple's entry. Samik Chatterjee, an analyst at JP Morgan, said, 'The market for foldable smartphones is expected to remain niche but positioned at the premium end of the market.' The introduction of a foldable iPhone would represent the most significant design overhaul since Apple's first smartphone debut in 2007, a launch that revolutionized mobile technology. Each new iPhone release has typically sparked strong consumer interest, with fans often queuing overnight to purchase the latest model. However, recent updates have been less groundbreaking, often focusing on modest improvements such as battery life and minor software tweaks. JP Morgan also noted that the upcoming iPhone 17 series, set to launch this autumn, is expected to feature 'fairly limited' enhancements, with investor attention already shifting toward next year's foldable model. This news comes as a much-needed boost for Apple, which has faced challenges maintaining its rapid growth. In June, Apple's annual product event failed to excite investors, particularly amid concerns that the company is lagging behind competitors in the field of artificial intelligence despite its vast hardware and software ecosystem. Since the start of the year, Apple's shares have fallen by 15%, affected by various pressures, including tariffs imposed by former President Trump on Chinese-made goods. Adding to Apple's challenges, former chief designer Sir Jony Ive joined OpenAI in May as part of a $6.5 billion initiative aimed at competing with the iPhone. In a pointed critique, Ive criticized existing 'legacy' products for relying on 'decades-old' technology.
Kuwait Times
18 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
US says Trump has ‘final call' on China trade truce
STOCKHOLM: China and the United States agreed Tuesday to hold further talks on extending their tariff truce, but a top US trade official stressed that President Donald Trump would make any 'final call.' The world's top two economies met for a second day of negotiations in Stockholm, with both sides seeking to avert tariffs from returning to sky-high levels that had ground trade between the rivals to an effective standstill. The meeting in a Swedish government building, led on the Chinese side by Vice Premier He Lifeng and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for the Americans, ended without a resolution but with the US side voicing optimism. Neither government has made public any details from the talks, which started on Monday, although US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Trump would have the 'final call' on any extension in the truce. 'Nothing has been agreed until we speak with President Trump,' added Bessent, calling the tone of the talks 'very constructive'. The negotiations are taking place in the wake of a trade deal struck over the weekend that set US tariffs on most European Union imports at 15 percent, but none on American goods going to the EU. The truce between China and the United States has temporarily set fresh US duties on Chinese goods at 30 percent, while Chinese levies on trade in the other direction stand at 10 percent. That accord, reached in Geneva in May, brought down triple-digit tariffs each side had levelled at the other after a trade war sparked by Trump spiralled into a tit-for-tat bilateral escalation. The 90-day truce is meant to end on August 12. But there are indications both delegations want to use the Stockholm talks to push the date back further. The South China Morning Post, citing sources on both sides, reported on Sunday that Washington and Beijing are expected to extend their tariff pause by a further 90 days. Trump said he would be briefed again by Bessent on Wednesday. 'We'll either approve it or not,' he told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from Scotland. Separately, Trump has threatened to hit dozens of other countries with stiffer tariffs from Friday this week unless they reach trade deals with Washington. Among them are Brazil and India, with the South American giant facing a threat of 50 percent tariffs. Asked about Friday's deadline, Bessent told CNBC: 'It's not the end of the world if these snapback tariffs are on for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, as long as the countries are moving forward and trying to negotiate in good faith.' Trump has already announced deal outlines with five countries — Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines — as well as the one with the 27-nation EU. Beijing says it wants to see 'reciprocity' in its trade with the United States. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said dialogue was needed 'to reduce misunderstandings'. The previous round of China-US talks was held in London. Analysts said many of the trade deals Trump has been publicizing were leaning more on optics than on details. Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, a firm that advises on currency exchange and commodities, said an extension of the 90-day truce between China and the United States could reinforce that view. 'That truce could set the stage for a Trump – (President) Xi (Jinping) handshake later this year - another risk-on carrot for markets to chew,' he said. – AFP
