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! 

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.