Tesla’s First Retail showroom might be as good as it gets for India, give the hoops that the country’s policymakers jumped to get the marque automobile brand. A Brand New Policy Was Pushed Through Last Year, Dubbed By The Industry As The ‘Tesla Policy’ to effectively yield to what CEO Elon Musk was pushing for: easing Issing Issmports introduning an exports with an explicit garante. To make in India.
What make it worse is that tesla would be importing its model y saloon units from shanghai gigafactory in china, with no guidance on manfacting in India. Tesla has no plans of starting production in India for the time being, union heavy industries minister HD kumaraswamy had Said last month. It is unclear which musk has given any further guidance to the Indian government on its manufacturing plans in India, but sources in the government indicate that is not on that without this without this.
Navigating indian roads
There are also the same as if the car would be tweeaked in any way to better Indian conditions, which could be far more challenging than the most other counties where Tesla Sells.
Take Full Self Driving (FSD) As an Example, for which Company proposes to charge Rs 6 Lakh Extra, Over and Above It Duty-Laden Price of Rs 59-68 Lakhs-Double of Saloon Sticker Price Price Price Price Price. What is unclear is the company has examined if FSD would work in India’s traffic conditions, and where the data from its Indian customers would be stored. In china, for instance, Musk has made multiple unannounced visits to beijing Tesla has been offering FSD for Subscription in China for four years, but with a restricted set of features that limit the system to operations such as automated lane changing or perks. Since 2021, Tesla has stored all data collected by its chinese fleet in the country, as required by the ciuntry’s regulators, and has not transferred any data back to the us. Musk has been desperately lobbying for an exemption on this. In India, there is little clearance on what Tesla’s terms of use of the data are.
In the us too, auto safety regulators had opened an invitation into Tesla’s Recall in December 2023
“The Activation and Use of these features are dependent on Achieving Reliability Far in Excess of human drivers as demonstrated by billions of experience, as well as as regulatory approval, which may take longer in symmet Jurisdictions are self-driving features, your car will continue through upgraded over-air software ”Tesla said on fsd.
Then there is the hardware of the car itself. Despite its 19-Inch Alloys, Whaer The Ground Clearance of the Model Y would be Enough to Negotiate India’s Pothole Ridden Roads Remains To Be Seen. The versions salva in other markets are a ground clearance of 167 mm, which is pretty low for a car that is really long (4,797 mm in length).
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There are more features that are out of sync with India’s driving conditions. The version of the model y to be solid in India something rear seats – definitely not a feature needed in mumbai, or for that matter delhi and gurugram, The car has heated and coled front seats.
Add to that fact that full-glass roof of the model y with no inside cover to cut the sun off is unlikely to fare well against India’s summer heat. The Company plan to install 16 DC Superchargers in Mumbai, but that could be inadequate even if they sell a moderate number of cars. The Company will give Home Chargers with the car. It has adopted the direct route to Sell in India, and not the franchisee route, as the case in other markets too.
China, slumping global sales
The Company’s Entry I India also comes at a time when it is struggling in china, one of its key markets. Tesla’s vehicle sales in china dropped 18% year-over-yer between janury and may 2025, with key rivals like bydone a surge, and Newer rivals like xiaomi launching cars that can matches. At a lower price point. While India is expected to be a small sales market for the company, relatively, it is no surprise that is looking to expand to the one of the world’s biggest automotom markets in hopes of new bayers.
A Majority of Tesla’s Sales Come from the us, with china contributing around 20%. In the reply concluded second quarter, Tesla’s deliveries fell 13.5%, with the company seemingly headed towards a second year of shrinking sales, also dragged down by Musk’s political affiliation. Besides, for many buyers, Tesla’s line has become old, with no fresh model updates.