The world’s most valued electric vehicle company, Tesla, might launch retail sales in India by April 2025, according to a CNBC-TV18 report citing sources familiar with the matter.
The latest development comes at the heels of Tesla CEO Elon Musk beginning to hire employees for the EV maker in India within days of meeting PM Narendra Modi.
This week on Monday, Tesla opened 13 roles in the country, from customer care positions to back-end ones, according to its LinkedIn channel.
The LinkedIn listings included 13 mid-level openings for Service Technician, Service Manager, Inside Sales Advisor, Customer Support Supervisor, Customer Support Specialist, Order Operations Specialist, Service Advisor, Tesla Advisor, Parts Advisor, Delivery Operations Specialist, Business Operations Analyst, and Store Manager.
In response to US President Donald Trump’s threat of retaliatory tariffs, the Indian government cut customs duty on luxury and high-end cars above ₹35 lakh to 70 per cent from 125 per cent. Musk, when he met with Modi, is said to have pushed for more cuts. While the outcome of this is yet to be determined, the Musk-Modi meeting seems to have been fruitful given the recent hiring call at Tesla.
The report identified possible showroom locations for Tesla to be in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and the Aerocity in New Delhi. The India offerings by the company are said to begin with an EV priced at $25,000. This comes to a competitive ₹21 lakh range, as far as high-end EVs in India are concerned.
While there are no confirmations of a ‘Make In India’ move by Elon Musk, the report suggests plans to significantly ramp up OEM component supplies locally. Such component sourcing is projected to cross $1 billion by 2025, the report indicated.
Tesla had, back in 2022, put its plans for India entry on hold. The latest development with possible showrooms at Aerocity and BKC is expected to be a major milestone for Elon Musk in one of the most crowded and emerging car markets in the world.
