Tesla Not Coming To India Anytime Soon

We had hoped Tesla to make its Indian debut in February next year at the 2018 Auto Expo in Delhi.

By Carandbike Team

1 mins read

Published on May 22, 2017

Highlights

Musk had earlier said that Tesla would come to India by end of 2017
He now says that supply of locally sourced parts does not yet exist here
The entry of Tesla in India might boost the electric car segment

It was in February 2017, that a tweet from Elon Musk made us hopeful about Tesla coming to India. In fact, he went on to state that Tesla would ‘hopefully’ make its way to the Indian markets by the end of this year and you bet when we smiled a little, knowing what was in store. Musk had also announced in a tweet last year that the company will enter the Indian market before production starts for its latest vehicle but clearly the production of the Model 3 has already started in America and so there's an obvious delay. But the latest tweet from Musk really is a dampner. When asked about Tesla’s India plans, Musk replied to the tweet stating “Maybe I'm misinformed, but I was told that 30% of parts must be locally sourced and the supply doesn't yet exist in India to support that” Now, this answer makes us rethink, whether we’ll see the brand in India in the next two years or not. But it also brings an important question to the fore as to whether Tesla is thinking of assembling cars in India right from the word go considering Musk mentions about localisation of parts. We’d hoped for a 2018 Delhi Auto Expo debut and the cars to roll out later, but clearly that does not appear to be feasible. @elonmusk Are there any chances for Tesla to release in India in 2017 or 2018? Waiting for that. — Avinash Singh (@TheAvinashSingh) May 22, 2017 undefined @TheAvinashSingh Maybe I'm misinformed, but I was told that 30% of parts must be locally sourced and the supply doesn't yet exist in India to support that. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 22, 2017 undefined Musk had earlier mentioned that Tesla planned to set up a pan-India supercharger network and this showed how serious the company is about foraying into the Indian market. Musk’s interest of entering India is an obvious one. The automotive industry in India is growing and currently worth $74 billion. In fact it's poised to become the third-largest automotive market in the world and that's certainly a huge-ish bait for Tesla. Sadly, electric car sales haven't really taken off in India, as we still haven't embraced the concept. This is one reason why we only have two electric cars in India- the Mahindra e2O and the Mahindra Verito. The car that was expected to kick start Tesla’s innings in India is the company’s most affordable car – the Model 3. It costs $35,000 which is Rs. 23 lakh approximately but considering that it will take the CBU route into India, we expect it to attract some heavy import duties and so it might not be that affordable once it's launched. We wait to hear some more good news on this front, but for the time being, Tesla’s entry into the Indian market has surely taken a back seat.