Tesla has entered the Indian passenger-vehicle market by opening its first showroom in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex on 15 July. The store is displaying two Model Y sport-utility vehicles, with the rear-wheel-drive version listed at about Rs 5.99 million and the long-range variant at Rs 6.8 million. Both are shipped from Tesla’s Shanghai factory and face roughly 70 percent import duty, making them around US$15,000 costlier than in the United States. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis presided over the inauguration, calling the launch a step toward establishing a local service and charging network. Opposition politicians and industry figures countered that the company should commit to manufacturing in India to generate jobs and cut prices. Tesla says eight supercharger locations are “coming soon” in Mumbai and Delhi but has not disclosed factory plans. Analysts expect the high-priced imports to target a narrow luxury niche and leave near-term volume leadership with domestic makers Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, which dominate the sub-Rs 2 million EV segment. Passenger EV penetration in India’s four-wheeler category remains below 2 percent, while overall EV share—including two- and three-wheelers—reached 7.8 percent in the fiscal year ended March 2025. Tesla’s debut coincides with fresh competition. Vietnam’s VinFast has begun taking reservations for its VF6 and VF7 electric SUVs and plans to start production at a US$2 billion plant in Tamil Nadu before month-end. The parallel moves underscore rising interest in India, now the world’s third-largest auto market, even as steep tariffs and patchy charging infrastructure continue to challenge overseas entrants.