The first car launch from Tesla India is expected to take place this year
Tesla is yet to conduct its first car launch event in the country despite setting up its Indian arm (Tesla India Motors And Energy) over a year ago.
The electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer that has homologated several models for India already has been urging the Centre to cut import taxes on electric cars.
At present the import duty for completely built-up units (CBUs) in the country is between 60 and 100 percent, which would make Tesla’s cars rather expensive.
The Indian government, for its part, has been asking the EV firm to assemble cars in the country and thereby attract a much lower duty, between 25 and 30 percent.
It seems the situation has not changed much as CEO of Tesla Inc, Elon Musk has recently revealed on microblogging site Twitter that the company is “still working through a lot of challenges with the government (of India).”
Thus, it is unclear exactly when the first Tesla India car launch will take place. But, the EV maker is expected to introduce the Model Y crossover (in the second quarter of this year), followed by the Model 3 sedan, initially in the market here.
Both electric cars have been spotted undisguised in the country and could prove to be game changers in their respective segments of the electric passenger vehicle market.
