Tesla's Flagship Showroom in Mumbai?

The American Automaker has long been eyeing on India as a major market. Tesla’s long standing battle with India on high import duties made it impossible for them to open up shop and sell their vehicles.

India had a strict 100% import duty policy which meant that all the Automobile manufacturers paid the entire car’s amount only on taxes making it financially unviable for brands to bring their best products to the Indian Market

This duty was Indian Government’s excuse to push the “Make in India” Narrative and follow brands to setup Manufacturing facilities in India.

So What Exactly Happened?

There were a lot of rumours of Tesla setting up shop in 2022. Tesla went on a hiring spree. Hiring top leadership that would help the business introduce its presence in the Indian Market.

A lot of Industry professionals questioned this as there was uncertainty as to if Tesla would actually setup shop or was it just trying their luck to get into the Indian market on a lower taxation rate.

First round of negotiations were heated and Tesla was shunned by the Government and threatened to either setup a manufacturing facility or import the cars at the same tax rate as the rest of the market

Tesla in India

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who also owns X - formerly known as Twitter on multiple occasions posted about this on X and made sure that the Government of India heard about it.

Multiple states in India proposed Tesla India Director - Vaibhav Taneja and the CEO Elon Musk to setup their manufacturing facility in India

Tesla's First Flagship Showroom!

Fast Forward to 2024, Thanks to US President Donald Trumps threat on reciprocal tax. It paved Donald Trump’s biggest supporter Elon Musk’s way to India.

Elon’s Tesla has already started hiring in multiple locations in India. From Bengaluru, Karnataka to Mumbai, Maharashtra and Chakan, Maharashtra.

Chakan is a popular Industrial Area just outside Pune, Maharashtra. Major Automobile brands like Tata, Mahindra, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Skoda, Piaggio etc have their manufacturing facilities there.

Tesla has sped up the process of hiring people for a slew of roles in Mumbai - Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune, Maharashtra.

Tesla is set to open its new flagship showroom in Bandra Kurla Complex area of Mumbai. Bandra Kurla Complex is an upmarket area and a major corporate area. The same area as Apple’s flagship store

This showroom is set to open as early as April or May.

Additionally, A showroom in Delhi is also on the drawing board as per sources.

Do you think Tesla will be able lure the Indian customers?

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