India gets Tesla Model Y launch, highest priced globally
The launch in Mumbai comes as the U.S. automaker, facing slowing global sales and surplus factory capacity, turns to India with cautious optimism, despite CEO Elon Musk's past criticism of the country's steep import tariffs.
Deliveries are expected to begin in the third quarter. Tesla is aiming for the premium electric vehicle (EV) segment in India, which currently represents just four percent of the nation's total car sales — the third-largest automobile market in the world.
Rather than competing with domestic EV makers like Tata Motors and Mahindra, Tesla will primarily go head-to-head with luxury German brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
On launch day, the company also inaugurated its first showroom in Mumbai, the capital of the western state of Maharashtra and the nation's commercial capital, and began accepting orders for the Model Y via its Indian website. This marks Tesla's long-anticipated entry into the Indian market, where Elon Musk had previously floated plans to build a factory.
For now, Tesla will import vehicles into India — a market where combined import duties and taxes can exceed 100 percent, significantly inflating prices for local buyers. Despite these costs, Tesla has opted for imports as an initial strategy while continuing to push for tariff reductions.
Tesla has long urged Indian authorities to lower import duties, and discussions between Indian officials and the U.S. government are reportedly ongoing in the context of a broader trade agreement. However, the cars displayed at the Mumbai showroom were manufactured in China. Tesla's U.S. plants currently do not produce right-hand drive models, which are required for India.
In India, the Model Y rear-wheel drive costs 6 million rupees ($70,000), while the long-range rear-wheel drive version costs 6.8 million rupees ($79,000). By comparison, the Model Y starts at $44,990 in the United States, 263,500 yuan (around $36,700) in China, and 45,970 euros ($53,700) in Germany.
Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system is available as an optional feature in India for 600,000 rupees ($7,200), with future software updates expected to offer more autonomous functionality.
Security was tight at Tesla's Mumbai launch event, with police stationed outside the office complex to manage crowds and media. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who attended the event, said: "In the future, we hope to see Tesla establish R&D and manufacturing operations in India — and I am confident that, at the right time, they will consider it."
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