Tesla is set to open its first Indian showroom in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex on July 15. The Tesla India X account shared a “coming soon” post on Friday night.
Tesla has signalled its imminent entry into the Indian market with a “coming soon” teaser on its newly created X (formerly Twitter) account, giving a long-awaited update to fans and potential buyers in the country.
Tesla is set to open its first Indian showroom in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex on July 15. The opening marks the electric vehicle (EV) giant’s formal debut in the world’s third-largest car market. The company is expected to begin deliveries of its popular Model Y SUVs by late August, as per a report by Bloomberg.
The Mumbai showroom, referred to as a “Tesla experience centre” in invitations sent to the media, will initially open its doors to VIPs and business partners. General public access is likely to follow the week after. Visitors will reportedly be able to compare model options, check prices, and begin configuring orders, possibly as early as next week.
Tesla’s debut in India comes after years of speculation, lobbying over import duties, and even a cancelled visit by CEO Elon Musk last year. While Musk had earlier expressed interest in investing $2-3 billion to build EVs locally, reports suggest the company is currently focused on imports, not manufacturing.
Commercial records from January to June indicate that Tesla imported around $1 million worth of vehicles, chargers, and accessories into India, mainly from China and the US. This includes six Model Y SUVs, five priced at $32,500 each and one long-range variant at $46,000, as well as several Superchargers.
Due to India’s steep import duty of around 70% on fully-built cars under $40,000, the final price for Indian customers is expected to be significantly higher than the car’s US cost. This could make the Model Y a test case for how far Indian consumers are willing to stretch for the Tesla brand.
The timing of Tesla’s India entry aligns with its broader strategy to expand in newer markets amid declining sales elsewhere and underused capacity at its global factories. The Indian EV market, while still in its early stages, is growing steadily with increasing interest among urban buyers and policy pushes from the government.
