Ali Hasan
Rejoice to each and every Indian because after much anticipation, Tesla is finally coming to India. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that Tesla Inc. will come to India in early 2021.
The first model to be launched will be the Tesla Model 3, the cheapest among Tesla vehicles, with prices starting at over $74,739 (Rs 55 lakhs). Tesla Model 3 is among the most affordable models of Tesla till date. The car was first rolled out in 2017 and has emerged as the world’s best selling all-electric car.
Tesla will import the vehicles as completely built units, with the capability of charging in 15 minutes. The Model 3 offers up to 500 km of range and a top speed of 260 kmph. Tesla’s Model 3, along with Model Y, accounted for nearly 89% of Tesla’s total sales in the third quarter of 2020.
CEO Elon Musk on Sunday confirmed India foray in 2021 in a reply on Twitter, but said it would not happen in January.
Gadkari said that the company will first start operations in the country with sales only and will later consider establishing any assembly and manufacturing plants, depending on the response its electric cars get from the buyers.
India has been keen to reduce its oil dependence and cut down on pollution, but its efforts to promote electric vehicles were never achieved because of a lack of investment in manufacturing and infrastructure such as charging stations.
Tesla had tried to enter India before but failed due to some reason or another. But, it looks quite promising this time and we are sure that Indians will also enjoy driving electric cars while reducing their carbon footprint in the meantime.
Although we are a bit optimistic about how people will respond to Tesla, we have still kept our fingers crossed.
