'India Has A Big Middle Class That We Want To Tap In While Import Duties Create Anxiety': Tesla CFO On India launch

Tesla has been in the news for a long time and there has been buzz regarding the entry of the brand to the Indian market while even the sighting of a Model Y being camouflaged also sparked further rumours. While there has been no confirmed date, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja has now shed light on the current situation and the plans at the recent earnings call.

While not confirming any timelines, he said that they are working on entering India as a big market and that 'India has a big middle class that we want to tap in'. However, a key concern that he also raised included the import duty structure where if Tesla sends a car in, it is '100 percent more expensive here' which creates' 'anxiety' amongst buyers.

Hence, the carmaker has been trying to figure out what the right time is to enter and also to find out a way to initiate its launch strategy for India. While the popular EV brand calls India a 'hard market', it is very much interested to enter although the timeline is further hazy now given India and US are further working on tariffs which could impact their entry. If tariffs are reduced on cars, then Tesla can be competitive for our market while full duties at the current structure would mean Tesla cars pricing themselves out of competition.

It is clear though that there are no plans for a Tesla plant in India as of now and the entry to India will depend on the tariffs. Given the current duties, the Model Y and Model 3 would be priced even higher than the current locally assembled entry level German luxury cars and Tesla is keen to enter only when the price is right it seems. 

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