Model Y Will Be The First Tesla Car To Be Available In India

Elon Musk-led electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla, which is likely to begin imports of its cars to India next year, will mark its foray in the country with Model Y.

Tesla’s Model Y is based on the Model 3 sedan platform and is a mid-size crossover SUV which is being built by the company in 2020. With the features being offered, this model is smaller and less expensive than the mid-sized Model X. 

However, Moneycontrol reported that as it is a crossover, it will offer optional third-row seats for a seven-passenger seating capacity, like Model X. 

The development comes a day after Bloomberg reported that the Indian government is on the verge of closing a deal with Tesla and allowing it to both ship and manufacture cars in the country. 

According to the report, Tesla is looking at states like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra to set up a manufacturing plant in India. An official announcement is likely to be made at the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January 2024.

Last month, the Prime Minister’s Office held a meeting with top officials to take stock of the next phase of electric vehicle manufacturing in India, including Tesla’s investment proposal, as per ET report. The officials present in the meeting further discussed speeding up the process of granting all necessary approvals to the company by January 2024. 

Also, the automaker is planning to double the import of car making components from India. Following his visit to one of the facilities of Tesla, union commerce minister Piyush Goyal posted on social media, “Proud to see the growing importance of Auto component suppliers from India in the Tesla EV supply chain. It is on its way to double its components imports from India.”