Tesla opened the doorways to its first showroom in India this week, and among the many first guests was Vishal Gondal — a longtime Tesla and Elon Musk loyalist who pre-booked a Mannequin 3 in April 2016, simply hours after reservations went stay. However regardless of exhibiting up on day one, Gondal says he has no plans to purchase a Tesla now.
“I felt a little bit bit underwhelmed,” mentioned Gondal, founder and CEO of fitness-tech startup GOQii, after visiting the maiden Tesla showroom in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complicated.
Over the higher a part of a decade, Gondal held out hope for Tesla’s debut in India. However his pleasure soured when he needed to chase the corporate for a refund in 2023 — sending a number of emails simply to get his $1,000 reservation payment.
“Attempting to get the cash again was an issue,” he instructed TechCrunch. “And the joke was, had we invested that cash in Tesla IPO inventory, we’d have made extra money.”
Gondal is among the many earliest backers of Tesla in India — somebody who pre-booked a car lengthy earlier than there have been any ensures. However 9 years on, it appears lots of these early believers usually are not celebrating the launch and have as an alternative made up their thoughts not to go together with Tesla, no less than on its debut.
These backers by no means received their Mannequin 3s, for which they paid the reservation payment quickly after Musk promised to launch the automobile within the nation. And a few, like Gondal, even waited and tried exhausting for years to get the refund, whereas some received it in Could, simply a few months earlier than Tesla’s formal debut.
“It’s irritating to see Tesla take so lengthy. I imply, our authorities and processes and pink carpet are exhausting, but it surely’s hilarious that even Starlink has gotten approval in a shorter interval,” mentioned Varun Krishnan, who runs tech weblog FoneArena from Chennai and can be one in every of Tesla’s early backers in India.
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Tesla didn’t invite these loyalists to go to its Mumbai showroom, nor did it give them an replace on the launch.
The 6,000-square-foot Tesla showroom is positioned in Maker Maxity Mall, close to Apple’s first retailer within the nation. Nonetheless, Gondal mentioned Tesla’s retailer was nowhere close to just like that of the Apple retailer launch.
“When Apple launched their showroom in the identical place, the excitement that Apple was capable of create versus the excitement that Tesla was capable of create, there’s a world of distinction,” he mentioned.
Gondal went to the Tesla showroom in his Audi e-Tron, which he had purchased the earlier 12 months, after ready a very long time for the Mannequin 3.
“This felt just like the coldest launch,” mentioned Amit Bhavani, founding father of tech weblog Phoneradar, who additionally pre-reserved the Mannequin 3 in 2016.
Bhavani ultimately received the $1,000 refund after criticizing Tesla in a video launched on YouTube in 2020.
The video obtained feedback from dozens of people that had additionally reserved the Mannequin 3 in India and have been ready for a refund, he mentioned.
“That’s after I felt that the entire love for Tesla turned an actual hatred for Tesla,” he instructed TechCrunch.
“The least Tesla may have executed was e-mail all of the individuals who reserved the automobile earlier and mentioned, ‘Guys, we’re going to have a particular occasion for you’,” Gondal mentioned. “These folks actually went out of their means, and despite the fact that let’s say it’s not a giant quantity, it was saying that we help Tesla.”
Some others, like Kawaljit Singh Bedi, mentioned they haven’t any regrets about supporting Tesla, though they obtained the refund simply earlier than the launch this 12 months. However, they’re additionally not trying to purchase a Tesla quickly.
“In spite of everything these years I’ve waited, I’m in no hurry to purchase it now and develop into the primary one to have it, as a result of what’s the purpose? I waited 9 years? I can wait 9 years and 6 months extra,” mentioned Bedi, co-founder and CTO of Frammer AI.
“Most of them who had put of their early vote of confidence are upset, together with, I do know, Vishal and Vijay [Shekhar Sharma of Paytm],” mentioned Krishnan. “Individuals like Vishal or Vijay, they’re taken with a whole lot of authority. So, if they’re shopping for one thing, there can be 100 folks going by their phrase.”
Sharma, founder and CEO of Indian fintech big Paytm, echoed feedback from different early backers, telling TechCrunch that he wouldn’t go together with Tesla and would relatively wait for a bigger portfolio of vehicles.
“It could be a bit too late,” he mentioned. “There are such a lot of different choices with price-value math extra suited to India.”
The years-long delay in Tesla’s launch — together with not being invited to the showroom opening — has left a number of the model’s earliest Indian loyalists feeling let down, mentioned Arun Bhatt, founding father of Tesla Membership India, who additionally pre-booked a Mannequin 3 in 2016
“You paid one thing and also you ardently waited for 10 years, after which out of the blue, they simply inform you, we’ll cancel it and we’ll refund, then what occurs — 10 years having waited for one thing, will we be given preferential remedy?” he questioned. “There’s zero communication concerning that. So, eight out of 10 reservation holders are annoyed.”
Bhatt began the membership with one other Tesla fanatic and Delhi College scholar, Nikhil Chaudhary, in 2019 as an off-the-cuff group for folks having an curiosity within the EV carmaker. Nonetheless, he instructed TechCrunch that because of the delay in Tesla’s launch within the nation, the membership has slowly modified from a Tesla consciousness membership to an EV and clear power consciousness membership.
No readability on after-sales and native Supercharger community
One of many considerations that many Tesla early backers have is the shortage of readability on how Tesla will arrange the Supercharger community within the nation and deal with after-sales care. The corporate introduced that it will set up eight charging stations, equally distributed throughout Delhi and Mumbai, earlier than beginning its deliveries in Q3. Nonetheless, it’s unclear whether or not these will likely be ample to supply sufficient backing to Tesla drivers in these two cities. Moreover, there aren’t any bulletins concerning how Tesla plans to deal with after-sales service of its vehicles in India.
“Having gotten older in 9 years, I’ve additionally gotten extra prudent in my car buy course of. I’m extra fearful about sensible issues than simply the Tesla model tag, which I fell in love with 10 years in the past,” mentioned Krishnan of FoneArena.
“There is no such thing as a actual pleasure to personal the primary automobile, figuring out that there is no such thing as a Supercharger community additionally,” Bedi of Frammer AI mentioned.
Musk’s political curiosity and even conflict with Trump are turning off some Indian drivers
In latest months, Musk’s public persona has undergone a shift — from a visionary entrepreneur working a number of firms to a polarizing political determine within the U.S. This transformation has impacted Tesla’s inventory and enterprise not solely in America but additionally in key worldwide markets. India seems to be no exception.
“After the entire elections and the politics, and no matter is occurring, I don’t see Elon with the identical colours as what I used to,” FoneArena’s Krishnan mentioned.
Kunal Khattar, an EV-focused investor in India and founding father of VC agency AdvantEdge Founders, echoed Krishnan’s sentiment, saying Tesla has misplaced “a little bit little bit of its shine” as a consequence of a number of elements — together with Musk’s political involvement, his alignment with Trump, and the general public fallout that adopted.
“Individuals used to suppose Tesla is saving the world, it’s saving the local weather, and this and that, it’s now not there,” he mentioned.
Khattar was invited to the Tesla launch in Mumbai. Identical to Gondal of GOQii and others, he additionally described it as “underwhelming” and “not like a typical car launch.”
The 1% playground
Tesla has launched the Mannequin Y in India, beginning at ₹59,89,000 (roughly $68,000). Some examine the India pricing with that of the Mannequin Y within the U.S., which begins at $44,990 (₹38,71,000). Nonetheless, the carmaker is importing the automobile from China — relatively than manufacturing it regionally within the nation — one thing that the trade generally refers to as a Utterly Constructed-Up (CBU). This provides as much as tariffs that Tesla is ready to pay for a while, till it decides to arrange a neighborhood manufacturing unit, and thus, clients should pay an exorbitant value.
In India, the premium phase, which begins from ₹35,00,000 (roughly $40,700) and goes as much as ₹1,00,00,000 (roughly $116,200), includes simply 1% of the overall automobile gross sales in India, roughly 50,000 automobiles. Nonetheless, in that 1%, electrical vehicles have virtually a ten% share to date, per Puneet Gupta, director, S&P International Mobility.
“With Tesla coming in, and if Tesla actually begins manufacturing in India, possibly two years down the road, there is no such thing as a doubt about it that it’ll make a robust case for all these OEMs [original equipment manufacturers], together with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi, to make a car for our Indian buyer for the primary time,” he mentioned. “The issue is that India has by no means been capable of persuade these OEMs that they’ll actually make an India-centric product, and it’ll have ample volumes.”
Total, electrical automobile gross sales in India accounted for simply 2.5% of the overall market in 2024, per Counterpoint. However it was “virtually negligible” in 2016, when Tesla initially introduced its entry. This was additionally the explanation why folks confirmed a whole lot of curiosity in Tesla again then.
“As of late, everybody can get a lovely, wonderful, tremendous highly effective electrical car in India. So, Tesla is just not one thing ‘wow’ worthy, apart from 5-10 minutes, folks ought to ask to simply have a look inside it,” Bhawani of PhoneRadar mentioned.
India’s vehicle big Tata Motors has dominated the nation’s electrical automobile market lately, although others — together with China’s MG Motor, which lately signed a three way partnership with Indian conglomerate JSW Group — are beginning to achieve floor.
The premium phase stays area of interest within the nation, although the rising variety of high-net-worth people has led to a 66 p.c year-over-year rise within the gross sales of premium EVs through the first 5 months of 2025, Abhik Mukherjee, a analysis analyst for automotive and IoT at Counterpoint, instructed TechCrunch.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Volvo, and choose fashions from Hyundai and Kia are sitting within the phase the place Tesla has introduced the Mannequin Y to the nation.
“Tesla’s present value level is unlikely to trigger any dent to the manufacturers working inside that value vary,” Mukherjee mentioned.
Nonetheless, Tesla’s debut is probably going to attract some buyer consideration to electrical vehicles in a market the place two-wheelers dominate the EV house.
“Individuals will no less than put EVs of their consideration set. Will Tesla promote a whole lot of vehicles? I don’t suppose so … Will Tesla improve the gross sales of different EV manufacturers? I feel so,” Khattar of AdvantEdge Founders mentioned.
Tesla didn’t reply to requests for remark.
