Tesla To Commence India Operations By Early 2021

Tesla, the American electric carmaker is expected to make its debut in the Indian market by early next year. The company reportedly will be accepting pre-bookings for the Model 3 and deliveries will follow later in the year, probably by the end of the first quarter of 2021-22. In a recent interview with Indian Express, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and MSME, Nitin Gadkari has confirmed that the electric giant will start operations in the country by early 2021.

Nitin Gadkari told Indian Express, “The minister underlined the push for electrical cars in the country and said a lot of Indian companies were also working on electrical vehicles that might be more affordable, but technically as advanced as the Tesla. He said Tesla will start operations first with sales and then maybe look at assembly and manufacturing based on the response to the cars. India is going to become a number 1 manufacturing hub for auto in five years.”

It was earlier this year in October when CEO Elon Musk confirmed Tesla’s entry into the Indian market by 2021. This information was revealed by Musk while replying to a Tweet from a handle – ‘Tesla Club India’. Moreover, the electric vehicle manufacturer is also exploring options to open an R&D centre and a battery manufacturing facility in India.

Tesla is expected to make its India debut with the Model 3, which reportedly could be a more affordable version. Moreover, it will come to India as Completely Built-Up (CBU) unit. Likely to be priced somewhere around ₹ 55 lakh, it might not be retailed in the country via dealerships as the EV will be handing direct sales. However, there is no official confirmation from the company regarding the same.