Tesla's 1st India showroom opens next week

Tesla will open its first showroom in India on Tuesday and begin deliveries as early as next month, people familiar with the matter said, as the Elon Musk-led electric vehicle maker looks to tap potential demand in the third-largest automobile market to counter slowing sales elsewhere.

The opening of the Mumbai showroom will mark the formal entry of Tesla into the market, giving prospective customers access to pricing, available variants, and trim options, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private, as well as documents seen by Bloomberg.

Deliveries are expected to start from late Aug, a separate person familiar with the development said. Customers will be able to configure and order their Tesla EVs from next week, the person added.

Bloomberg first reported last month that the Mumbai showroom was gearing up for a mid-July opening and the first set of cars - Model Y rear-wheel drive SUVs shipped from Tesla's China factory - had arrived in the country.

A second Tesla showroom - this one in New Delhi - is poised to open in late July, the people said.

Tesla's long-awaited entry into the Indian market comes at a crucial time for the EV maker, which saw a slump in global sales in the second quarter that ran counter to Musk's claim that business had recovered from blowback over his work in the Trump administration.

Tesla representatives did not immediately respond to an email seeking comments on the India rollout plans.

The Model Y is the world's top-selling electric car and its popularity in India will offer insight on consumers' acceptance of high import duties. Hefty tariffs had been a major factor weighing on Tesla's decision around when to enter the Indian market, CFO Vaibhav Taneja said during the automaker's first-quarter earnings call.

Documents reviewed by Bloomberg last month show five Model Y units were declared at approximately Rs 27.7 lakh ($32,270) each. Taking into account India's 70% import tariff on fully-built imported cars under $40,000, plus additional surcharges, the cars are likely to sell at a substantial premium to the roughly $46,630 they go for in the US.

The first week of the Mumbai showroom's operations will focus on VIPs and business partners, with the general public being granted access the following week, said the people familiar with the plans.

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