EVs in India - really?

In Jan. ‘26, I took a test drive of the beloved Tesla from the BKC store. I preferred that the salesperson drive and that I would simply enjoy the view, for a change.

Boy, from the Worli sealink U-turn, the salesperson pressed the accelerator and showed the vehicle’s capabilities. I was impressed, though not stunned. 

For a company that has been at this tech for 3 decades, it is not such a big story or a feature for the autophile in me.

What impressed me more, was the kaali-peeli (black and yellow) cabs and the vatanukul (a/c) taxis continue to ply shoulder to shoulder with the German speedsters, the Indian rockstar auto-brands, the white coloured taxis and of course, those walking hurriedly across roads.

At times, one reaches their destination faster (in Mumbai) of they prefer to walk, then to get dropped in a car / cab. 

To fully absorb and utilise the features of the Tesla, I wondered if potential buyers would spend 60-90 mins just to get to the outskirts. 

I recall, during the 2010s, Royal Enfield where I doubled the number of dealerships across India at the time, positioned itself not as a commuter bike, rather a leisure automobile. 

It was a fun-toy for the grown up adults to manoeuvre over the weekends, a bit of a show-off and mostly to admire the ride no matter how bumpy the roads were. 

I felt the same with Tesla as well.

At best, the Luxury EVs in India offered by Audi India BMW Group Mercedes-Benz India Volvo Cars Mahindra and Mahindra Limited [Automotive and Farm Equipment Business] Tata Motors and ofcourse not to leave behind Rolls-Royce are no more than eye-candy.

We still continue to use coal-powered Electricity to draw power to these beasts, thereby defeating the larger purpose of EVs. 

Even as auto-enthusiasts quarrel on social media platforms about their beloved brands of EVs, the common man - read the INR 1 lakh and above households - do not really care about Net-neutrality. 

Eventually, when they buy a bike or a car, it is mostly about - “Kitni deti hai” - what’s the mileage. 

And that’s what matters to most Indians. No wonder, EV penetration remains so low in the country, with hardly visible public infrastructure for charging, let along using renewable energy! 

Reflections: I didn’t sign up for this

It was a cold Saturday morning during end-January 2010. I was reading the Harvard Business Review (HBR) magazine outside the office of the Chairman of Café Coffee Day (CCD). 

It was a ritual at CCD that every 10 days, Late Mr. VG Siddhartha would meet the All India Business Development Team which I was heading, along with our CEO, COO and the Operations team.

We would display the potential real estate opportunities on a PPT, with my colleagues joining virtually from all across India. By the end of the meeting, we would collectively take a decision whether to lease or not the space, based on various metrics.

I was just into the role, and it was my 4th meeting or so with this elite group. 

When the Chairman came out of the Conference Room from the previous meeting, he saw me waiting outside with a puzzled look. This kept repeating over the next 2 times. The 10th floor was access-restricted, which means only a select few could access it.

A couple days later during a one-on one, my CEO told me to come only after he sends me a BBM (remember!) & not earlier. I gave a blank look to which he enquired what was the reason.

I said, I come to the 10th floor a tad earlier, just to read the HBR magazine as I couldn’t it afford otherwise to buy. Now, he gave me a puzzled look too.

When I met the cafe team at Dharmshala, 2010

Ahead of the next meeting, my CEO told me to come early and read the HBR, as advised by the Chairman. The news had gone to him, after all. 

I was a bit surprised and embarrassed at the same time; but then it was ok to chew my ego & read the HBR magazine when possible. And that’s what mattered finally.

16 years later, I was taking the evening cab from Hotel Taj Lands End after the completion of the first Module of the Senior Leadership Program (SELP) offered by Harvard Business School (HBS). 

I kept staring at the Mumbai skyline 360*. When I was crossing Kurla, I wondered how the baby born at Sion Hospital 5 decades ago, was now a big boy and was a student at the prestigious Harvard University (Mumbai camp). 

And he would soon become a Graduate (fingers crossed) at the Boston campus of HBS by the end of 2026!

All through the 35-min drive (which felt almost eternal), I was gathering all that happened during these past 15 days.

I was slowly absorbing what I have learned from four top Professors who had descended to India from Boston, exclusive to teach and to share their knowledge with us.

The 46 incredible people in our batch represent various industries, vocations and businesses, from all across India, the Middle East & the Philippines.

It would take me a lifetime, perhaps, to understand the kind of impact that this year-long course would create on a professional like me.

I had embraced the Retail Industry at a young age of 19 almost by chance, as a waiter scooping ice-cream at Baskin Robbins in Chennai in the year 1997.

Ever since, I have never looked back away from the Indian Retail Industry. Not that the other industries (or countries) are any less attractive or financially rewarding, but my roots were and are in the Indian Retail Industry and I shall remain here forever.

The Leadership lessons from over 30+ case studies that we have discussed, disagreed, debated and left them open-ended – for, that’s how cases are done - with my Professors and batch mates were an eye opener on Leadership.

After all, one of the key roles of a Leader, according to me, is to be a good listener first.

Before we meet again in less than 12 weeks, we have a lot of reflections (and perhaps some executions at workplace as well) to be done on what has already been taught, as well as take up other online assignments as part of the Course.

When Prof. Stefan Thomke asked me a few days back about the course and my leaning towards it, I simply said, “I didn’t sign up for this Prof; I thought it was a going to be a 3-feet swimming pool where I could play and have fun and lo behold, this is an ocean. And by the way, I do not know swimming either”. 

But then, I do not have a choice but to uphold the values of being a student (and later on, an alumni) of the world’s most prestigious “Harvard” badge. I assured him, I will do my best. 

As Amitabh Bachchan would quip in a different context in the film K3G (2001), “Prampara hai beta, Paramapara hai…”

Loving this avatar as an eternal student of Retail. And I have Miles To Go, after all.

My Tesla India experience

On a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon, I decided to walk in to the Tesla India showroom located at Jio World Drive at BKC, Mumbai. It was my first visit btw.

I was quite surprised, that there was not even a single potential customer for enquiries or for a test drive. 

Given that the BKC is a second CBD in city, perhaps it is understandable that the working executives are not around.

The showroom was opened to the public in July 2025 amidst a huge PR exercise. Elon Musk was conspicuously absent for the India launch at the time. 

However, Bloomberg last week reported that Tesla India is sitting on over 50% unsold inventory which have already been brought in to India last year.

Inside the showroom, the staff member, Mr. Zaheer was very keen and forthcoming to showcase the car to me.  He took personal interest to understand my needs and explained it all to me.

He was also kind enough to take me for a spin all the way up to the Sealink toll and we took a U-turn there. 

Pretty nice experience, I must say. Especially being a co-pax., which I chose to be. Just to understand what my family would feel sitting in there. 

The cabin is extremely spacious. 

As Steve Jobs would say, Design is not how it look, rather how it works. Folks at Tesla seem to have got everything right indeed, in terms of the design feature of everything inside the vehicle. 

State taxes seem to be a killer, according to the numbers Zaheer showed me. 

Road Taxes for key states are as below;

• Telangana: INR 14,24,892
• Karnataka: INR 717,989
• Tamil Nadu: INR 7,060

Isn’t it amazing that the that one state charges 200 times of another! Welcome to the crazy Indian taxation system.

So, the on-road price, if I were to take the Tesla Model Y to Chennai, I would have to spend INR 69 Lakhs ++.

The price is jacked up mainly because India imposes 100% import duty on vehicles that are neither made or assembled in the country. This was the main reason for the US-India Tariff wars around the summer of 2025. 

On the other hand, if I were to use the same INR 70 lakhs, I could probably buy not one, but 3 top-end EVs as below;

• Mahindra 9E: INR 31 lakhs (approx)
• Tata Safari EV: INR 31 lakhs (approx)
• MG Comet: INR 10 lakh (approx)
• Total: INR 72 lakhs

Given the “international badging” and the after sales support, many Indian consumers seem to be weary of the situation to invest on a Tesla in India. 

What’s your take on buying a Tesla? 

Would you go for it, especially if you are in Mumbai? And would you rather buy buy 1 EV instead of three? Would be keen to know your views. 

PS: The visit to Tesla showroom coincided with my ongoing year long Leadership Course at Harvard Business School.