First Tesla store in India to open next week — What we know so far

Elon Musk-led electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla will launch its first outlet in India on July 15. The Cybertruck will open its 'experience centre' in Bandra-Kurla Complex area of Mumbai next week.

ET reported last month on the progress at the upcoming Tesla outlet in the financial district of the city. After its Mumbai launch, the EV maker plans to open another store in Delhi, according to a Bloomberg report.



Tesla had signed the lease for its 4,000 square foot Mumbai showroom in March. The location is in the vicinity of Jio World Drive, which has houses Apple's first showroom in the country.

Earlier this month, Tesla leased a new commercial space in central Mumbai’s Kurla West area of Mumbai. The space is expected to serve as a vehicle service area. This is Tesla’s fourth commercial space in India, after its engineering facility in Pune, a registered office in Bengaluru, and a 30-seater office near Mumbai’s central business district, Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) secured for a year.

The Elon Musk led EV maker is moving ahead with its India plans despite a recent top-level shake up. Prashanth Menon, Tesla's India country head, resigned last in May after a nine-year-long stint, according to Bloomberg News, as the US carmaker is getting closer to launching its cars in the world's third-largest car market. Tesla's China teams are overseeing India operations in the interim, with no immediate successor named.

The company has already hired for several of the three dozen positions it advertised in India earlier this year, onboarding store managers, sales and service executives. It is also hiring supply chain engineers and vehicle operators for its autopilot projects.

Earlier this month, Union heavy industries minister HD Kumaraswamy commented on Tesla's India entry that the company is not keen on manufacturing in the country Tesla and "only wants to open showrooms and sell imported cars".

Notably, Tesla is entering India as Musk has an ugly falling out with US President Donald Trump. A very public spat on social media platforms over Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, and a hasty reconciliation later, Musk has announced forming his own America Party to contend.

Tesla cars arrive in India

Tesla has started shipping its vehicles to India ahead of launching operations in the country. Five Model Y rear-wheel drive SUVs have already arrived from China ahead of the India launch, Bloomberg reported last month. Model Y is Tesla's highest-selling model.

The company has also imported Supercharger components, car accessories, merchandise and spares from the US, China and the Netherlands, the report said.

Tesla declared five cars at Rs 27.7 lakh ($31,988) per unit, and paid Rs 21 lakh in import duties, consistent with India’s 70% tariff on fully-built imported cars under $40,000 plus surcharges. Model Y is expected to go on sale for more than $56,000, or around Rs 48 lakh, before taxes and insurance. However, Tesla will likely determine the final sticker price based on its margin and positioning strategy. The company prices the same model at $44,990 in the US, and sells it for $37,490 with tax credits are applied.