After years of "Will they, won't they", Tesla has finally entered the Indian market, and launched the Model Y SUV, with prices starting at Rs 59.89 lakh (ex-showroom). Tesla has opened its first outlet at Maker Maxity in the Bandra-Kurla Complex area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurating the showroom early on Tuesday morning. Bookings are now open for the Model Y, with the reservation amount set at Rs 22,220 (Rs 3 lakh to be paid within a week of booking). Deliveries of the Model Y – which is being shipped into India as a full import – are set to begin in the third quarter of this calendar year. Deliveries of the Long Range variant start from Q4 2025.
Model Y measures 4,790 mm in length; has 167 mm of ground clearance.
The Model Y is available in two variants – Standard Range Rs 59.89 lakh) and Long Range (Rs 67.89 lakh, both prices, ex-showroom), both offered only with rear-wheel drive. Differences between the two variants are only in the performance and range departments. The Standard Range Model Y will do 0-100 kmph in a claimed 5.9 seconds, while the Long Range Model Y will do it a shade quicker, in 5.6 seconds. Range for the Standard variant is up to 500 kilometres, and up to 622 kilometres for the Long Range model, on the WLTP cycle.
India gets the Model Y facelift, codenamed ‘Juniper’.
In every other regard, the two Model Y variants are the same. The Model Y measures in at 4,790 mm in length, 1,982 mm in width and 1,624 mm in height. Tesla's India website lists the weight for the Standard model at 1,928 kg, and 1,901 kg for the Long Range variant. The India-spec Model Y rides on 19-inch wheels, and has 167 mm of ground clearance.
The Model Y can be fast-charged at up to 250 kW, with which Tesla claims it can regain 267 kilometres of range with a 15-minute charging session.
Model Y has a 15.4-inch central touchscreen that houses all key vehicle controls.
In India, the Model Y will be available in a total of six colours, with Stealth Grey being the standard colour. All other shades come at a premium – Pearl White Multi-Coat (Rs 95,000), Diamond Black (Rs 95,000), Glacier Blue (Rs 1.25 lakh), Quicksilver (Rs 1.85 lakh) and Ultra Red (Rs 1.85 lakh). Opting for the beige-and-black interior colour scheme will add another Rs 95,000 to the price.
Tesla is also offering full-self driving (FSD) as an option priced at Rs 6 lakh, but the website specifies that ‘the currently enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous, and that the ’activation and use of these features are dependent on achieving reliability far in excess of human drivers'.
Other safety equipment includes automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, blind-spot collision warning and lane departure avoidance. The Model Y utilises eight cameras (including a new front-facing camera), and the pre-facelift model had received a five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating.
The front seats in the Model Y are powered, with heating and ventilation functions. The rear seats also have power adjustment, but they only feature heating, not ventilation. Rear passengers can control in-vehicle functions using an 8.0-inch touchscreen, and the Model Y also has a nine-speaker sound system, a full glass roof and powered tailgate opening.
