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Investing.com -- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has officially launched in India, foraying into the market with a sales-only presence and opened its first showroom in Mumbai.
Two versions of the updated Model Y are being offered—standard range (500 km) and long range (622 km)—priced at around $70,000 and $80,000, respectively. Deliveries are expected to begin in the third and fourth quarters of 2025, depending on the variant.
For now, the carmaker has not disclosed any manufacturing plans in India. It is importing the vehicles as fully built units, which subjects them to steep duties of 70-100%.
According to Bernstein analysts, Tesla has not signed up for India’s new EV policy, which offers a lower 15% duty for vehicles over $35,000 in exchange for a commitment to local manufacturing.
“Tesla might be looking for import sops through the U.S.-India trade treaty and perhaps this is the reason for initiating a presence as policies and tariffs can change quite swiftly in the U.S. these days,” analyst Venugopal Garre said in a note.
Tesla’s immediate focus appears to be on brand building, not mass volumes. “By launching the Model Y at a luxury price point, Tesla is clearly focusing on building brand and not mainstream volumes,” the note said.
Additional showrooms are planned in Delhi and Gurgaon, and each city—along with Mumbai—will also receive four charging stations, each hosting 16 superchargers.
Despite the buzz, Bernstein expects limited near-term disruption for local automakers such as Mahindra, Maruti or Tata, Garre said.
Even under a favorable trade agreement scenario, Tesla’s entry-level EVs would still be more than 30% costlier than top-tier local models. However, that could change over time as Tesla is developing a more affordable EV priced around $25,000, the analyst said.