Tesla is officially stepping into the Indian automotive market with the launch of its first showroom and experience centre in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on July 15. The company sent out media invites late Thursday, calling the event the “launch of Tesla in India.”
Despite Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s longstanding complaints about India’s high import duties, the electric vehicle (EV) giant is making its entry into the world’s third-largest car market by importing vehicles and merchandise worth nearly $1 million from the U.S. and China between January and June 2025. These imports include several Superchargers and six units of Tesla’s top-selling Model Y—five standard versions priced at $32,500 each and one long-range variant valued at $46,000.
Tesla’s India strategy, for now, focuses on selling imported models rather than manufacturing locally. This means its cars will attract about 70% in import duties and additional levies. The move comes at a time when the company is dealing with excess manufacturing capacity and falling sales globally.
India has long courted Tesla to set up local manufacturing facilities, even announcing a new EV policy to accommodate such plans. Last year, Elon Musk had been scheduled to visit India to possibly unveil a $2-3 billion investment, including in domestic production, but the visit was abruptly cancelled.
So far, Tesla has hired for several of the 30-plus positions it posted in India earlier this year. These include store managers, sales and service staff, and recruitment is ongoing for supply chain engineers and autopilot vehicle operators.
Though Tesla’s local manufacturing plans remain on hold, the Mumbai showroom launch signals the beginning of the company’s formal commercial presence in India—a key step in testing the market for future growth opportunities.
