Elon Musk's fortunes have taken an upswing this year with a rise in personal wealth plus Tesla's entry into the S&P 500 index. Now, Elon Musk owned Tesla is said to enter the much-coveted Indian market. This was confirmed by India’s Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in a conversation with the Indian Express recently. Further, the Minister also said that the EV giant will commence its journey in India with sales. Later, Tesla will be looking at other aspects like assembly and manufacturing if it receives a good response from the Indian consumers. The sudden focus on the EV segment comes in the backdrop of a statement issued by Gadkari this year. Gadkari made an announcement that India would adapt and move to 100 percent fully electric cars by the year 2030. The Indian government wants to reduce its dependency on oil imports and cut down on pollution.
According to the Economic Times, the first Tesla model to arrive in the country will be the Model 3 which is the most affordable in the brand’s line-up so far. It is currently priced in the foreign markets at $74,739 or Rs 54,60,879.77 in Indian currency. We can expect the model to retail in the price range of Rs 55 lakhs - Rs 60 lakhs (ex-showroom) in the country. In India, Tesla Model 3 will be coming as a CBU (Completely Built Unit). Also, the booking will be starting in January 2021.
Currently, Tesla Model 3 is sold in 4 variants namely Standard Range (RWD), Standard Range Plus (RWD), Long Range (AWD), and Long-Range Performance (AWD). It offers a range of 500 kms on a single full charge. The battery size comes in a bracket of 50 kWh to 75 kWh. It takes hardly 15 minutes to get fully recharged.
Earlier this year in October, the Maharashtra Government had invited Tesla to the state. This happened just weeks after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk suggested entering the Indian market by 2021. If the market response is good, Tesla might look to set up a production facility in India considering the government is giving incentives to EV manufacturers.