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!
