Elon Musk’s Tesla marks formal India entry with Mumbai launch event

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Grappling with excess manufacturing capacity at its other factories and falling sales, Tesla has pivoted to selling imported cars in India.

PHOTO: REUTERS

MUMBAI – Tesla will open its first India showroom in Mumbai on July 15, having imported US$1 million (S$1.3 million) worth of cars and merchandise, marking its entry into the world’s third-largest car market despite CEO Elon Musk’s complaints about high import tariffs.

Grappling with excess manufacturing capacity at its other factories and falling sales, Tesla has pivoted to selling imported cars in India on which it will need to pay about 70 per cent import duty and other levies.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has for years wooed Tesla, including coming up with a new policy to attract the carmaker to build its electric vehicles (EVs) locally.

In 2024, Mr Musk had planned to visit India, where he was expected to announce an investment of US$2 billion to US$3 billion, including in local EV manufacturing. But he cancelled the trip at the last moment.

Tesla has conveyed that it is not interested in manufacturing in India at the moment.

US President Donald Trump has said that if Tesla were to build a factory in India to circumvent that country’s tariffs, it would be unfair to the US.

Tesla has hired for several of the three dozen positions it advertised in India earlier in 2025, bringing on board store managers and sales and service executives. It is looking for supply chain engineers and vehicle operators for its autopilot ambitions.

In an invitation to