With Indian Registration Done, Tesla Gets One Major Step Closer To Commencing Indian Operations

• The carmaker is registered under the name Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt Ltd.

• It will start operations in India with an R&D centre in Bengaluru.

• The entry-level Model 3 sedan is likely to be the first Tesla to be launched in India.

• Initially, it will arrive as a CBU import, but Tesla is exploring the option of local production.

• Model 3 prices are likely to begin from Rs 60 lakh onwards.

Word of Tesla entering the Indian market has been floating around for so long that it can probably qualify as a myth. After numerous delays and change of plans since the introduction of the Model 3 in 2017, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari ended 2020 with the news that Tesla would make it to our shores. Good news is that the American carmaker has crossed the first hurdle on its way to the country with the official registration of its Indian entity.

Registered as 'Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited', the brand will begin with an R&D centre based out of Bengaluru. The Indian operations will be headed by three directors -- Vaibhav Taneja (Chief Accounting Officer), Venkatrangam Sreeram (Bengaluru-based start-up entrepreneur), and David Feinstein (Global Senior Director of Tesla).

In India, Tesla is expected to kickstart with its entry-level Model 3 sedan, which would arrive as a CBU, probably from the carmaker’s new Gigafactory in China. We reckon it to be priced around the Rs 60 lakh-mark (ex-showroom). 

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Bookings for the electric sedan are likely to begin soon, with deliveries expected to start by mid-2021. Here’s what you can expect from the first Tesla model to hit the Indian market.

Tesla’s current line-up consists of Model 3 and Model S sedans, and Model X and Model Y SUVs. However, it is yet to be seen which of the four models the carmaker introduces here eventually. There is no official word on whether Tesla’s uber-cool Autopilot (autonomous self-driving) feature would make it to our shores.