This would be one of the most exciting new of this year! Elon Musk, CEO and product architect of Tesla, has confirmed that Tesla will entry India next year. A tweeter handle, @TeslaClubIN asked Musk when Tesla is coming to India? Replying to the tweet, Musk said “Next year for sure”, “Thanks for waiting”.
However, it’s not the first time he promised Tesla’s India entry. The unfavorable Indian import duties have restricted the carmaker to take the further step. If reports are to be believed, Tesla has been in talks with the Indian government to setup a R&D center in the country. Though, the discussion is in its initial phase.
Just so you know, the American carmaker had announced its plan to launch the Tesla Model 3 electric sedan in India in 2017. Though, the company put a hold on it due to India’s import and tax structure. Model 3 is Tesla’s most affordable electric sedan that features a 60kW hour lithium-ion battery pack with RWD and AWD drivetrain system. It has the brand’s Autopilot self-driving function as standard feature. In the US, the electric sedan’s prices start around $35,000 (Rs 25.61 lakh approx.)
Tesla’s Shanghai based manufacturing facility serves as a production hub for the Model 3 electric sedan. The model has been ruling the sales chart in the Chinese market. The carmaker retailed over 11,000 units of the electric sedan in August, 2020. Recently, the carmaker reduced prices of the China-made Model 3 sedan by around 8%.
The China-made version is now available with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are more affordable than the Nickel-cobalt-manganese (NMC) cells. At present, the Tesla Model 3 long range version costs 309,9000 yuan, down from 344,050 yuan. The American carmaker is also establishing a new manufacturing plant for Model Y SUV in Shanghai. Deliveries from the new facility are likely to begin from next year.
