Elon Musk’s Tesla and Starlink are on the cusp of entering India. Tesla’s first showroom opens in Mumbai while Starlink promises high-speed internet
Elon Musk may now be on the warpath with US President Donald Trump, but his two major companies – Tesla and Starlink – are on the cusp of entering India. This means cutting-edge electric vehicle technology coming to India, along with the fastest satellite connectivity.
This week, on Tuesday (July 15), Tesla’s first showroom will open in India at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex. Tesla announced its entry into India with a new X handle. The company is calling its showroom as an “experience centre” and five Model Y vehicles are said to have landed in the city ahead of the launch.
Delhi’s Aerocity could have the second showroom by the end of this month. And, when can you book and get a Tesla? August or September. But be prepared to cough up a bomb – almost Rs 65 lakh to Rs 70 lakh, which is double of what the Model Y costs in the United States.
Well, the reason is that Tesla cars are being directly imported so far and, hence, cannot escape the 70 percent import duty that India charges. Then there are other surcharges and registration costs. The import duty would have been 110 percent, but India reduced it to 70 percent earlier this year to enable Tesla’s entry.
Tesla, so far, has no plans to manufacture its EV in India – something that the Narendra Modi-led government wants Musk to do so that the cars can become affordable for Indians and also create jobs here.
Tesla for now will be importing the cars. India could be the biggest EV maker in the years to come – and Tesla no longer wants to miss out on the early mover advantage.
But at a price tag of Rs 65 lakh to Rs 70 lakh, Tesla is not challenging the big players in India’s EV market – from Mahindra to Tata, which have far more affordable offerings. Even BYD is competitively priced.
Tesla is clearly going to test the waters first. It has a challenging task to set up charging infrastructure and ensure its imported cars adjust to vastly different Indian road conditions.
STARLINK COULD REVOLUTIONISE INTERNET
Musk’s other big offering – Starlink – is also set for an Indian debut in the next few days. India officially opened its doors to Starlink last week to launch internet services.
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre granted a nod to Starlink Satellite Communications, signalling the country’s growing embrace of private space and communication technology.
This will enable provisioning of the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, namely Starlink Gen1, and the private company can provide satellite communication services in India for the next five years.
The Starlink Gen1 Constellation is a global constellation with 4,408 satellites orbiting Earth at altitudes varying between 540 km and 570 km, capable of providing ~600 Gbps throughput over India. Again, the Starlink service will come at a higher cost than your regular broadband or WiFi service but will be much faster.