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Tesla Challenge in India: American e-vehicle company Tesla has entered India, but its challenges are not diminishing. On one hand the challenge regarding price is increasing and on the other hand it is facing tough competition from the Chinese rival company.
New Delhi. The dreams of the world’s richest and successful man Elon Musk are facing a big challenge by coming to India. His e-vehicle manufacturing company Tesla had entered India in the month of July, but the performance so far in terms of sales has been very slow. Tesla’s rival Chinese e-vehicle company BYD has performed strongly after entering India. Now Tesla has claimed that if Indian customers buy their car, they can save up to Rs 20 lakh in the next 4-5 years.
Tesla’s General Manager (India) Sharad Aggarwal has said that the price of the company’s entry level Model Y in India is around Rs 60 lakh. But, Indian customers buying it can save around Rs 20 lakh by saving fuel and maintenance. Besides, its resale value is also very good and the cost of charging at home is only 10 percent of that of petrol. Tesla has sold about 140 units in the Indian market since July.
Why is the car priced so high?
The price of Tesla’s entry level model in India goes above Rs 60 lakh, which is almost 3 times more than the average price of Rs 22 lakh for most e-cars sold in the country. Even in America its price is about 70 percent less than in India. Despite the government encouraging e-vehicles, the share of electric vehicles in total car sales in the country is only 5 percent. The reason for this is the 100 percent tariff imposed on import of cars in the country, which Musk has also said is the highest in the world.
Demand for expensive e-cars is low
Bloomberg has said in its recent report that looking at the figures for the first half of the year 2025, it shows that only 2,800 e-cars priced between Rs 45 lakh to Rs 70 lakh have been sold. This shows that the market in which Tesla is looking for its place is still quite limited. On the other hand, China’s rival company BYD has performed better by selling more than 1,200 units of Sealion 7 SUV in the first six months of this year.
Tesla’s challenge is increasing
The challenges of American company Tesla in the Indian market will not end only with the price, but the tariff relief which Tesla was expecting from the trade agreement is also fading away. At present, the tariff on some models of cars in the Indian market has reached 110 percent and the path to a trade agreement with America is also not looking easy. Tesla was hoping to export cars from its German factory to India, but negotiations on a free trade agreement with the EU are still incomplete. If the company wants to reduce its prices, this is also not possible due to the ongoing turmoil in the global market. To further strengthen its strategy, the company has also handed over the leadership of Gurugram operations to Sharad Aggarwal, former head of Lamborghini India.
