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Hey everybody, welcome back to 
the Elon Musk Podcast. 

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This is a show where we discuss 
the critical crossroads that 

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shape SpaceX, Tesla X, The 
Boring Company, and Neurolink. 

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I'm your host, Will Walden. 
Tesla has officially launched 

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its Model Y in India, setting a 
starting price of about ₹5.5 

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million. 
That's about $66,000 USD and 

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raises this really interesting 
question though. 

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Who in India is going to buy a 
Tesla for that price now? 

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The company opened pre-orders 
for the vehicle this week 

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following the Prime Minister 
Modi's March approval of a 

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policy that reduces import taxes
on EVs for global automakers 

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willing to invest at least $500 
million in local manufacturing 

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and start building cars in India
within three years. 

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Now, Tesla is the first major 
company to take advantage of the

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new policy and has moved quickly
by announcing a launch for its 

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most popular global model. 
However, India it might not be 

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rated for this. 
The prices could create a major 

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barrier for people. 
Now the cost places the Model Y 

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in the same segment as high end 
luxury brands like 

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Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW without
matching the badge value or 

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luxury appeal those brands 
carry. 

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In India's premium car market. 
It's different. 

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In India, Mercedes-Benz, Audi 
and BMW really big deal. 

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Tesla. 
Not as much right now. 

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Not as rushed, not as not as 
much. 

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But Tesla plans to sell the 
India bound Model Y through 

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direct imports for now, with 
units shipped from its factory 

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in Berlin. 
That keeps the price far above 

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what Indian consumers typically 
spend on a car. 

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Now the average vehicle in India
sells for about $13,000, even 

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among EVs where pricing is 
usually higher. 

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Tesla's $66,000 entry point is 
more than triple the cost of the

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top selling EV in the country. 
The Tata Nexon EV priced around 

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$20,000. 
Even MG and BYD, both foreign 

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brands, offer electric SUVs for 
$30,000 or under. 

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How is Tesla going to compete 
with that? 

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This twice plus the cost of 
another EVABYD. 

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Mind you, BYD competes directly 
with Tesla with technology and 

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MG same thing, very similar. 
Now. 

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Despite these prices though 
Tesla's interest in India, it's 

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been long-awaited towards the 
company establishing a physical 

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presence in the world's third 
largest car market. 

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That's the had previously spent 
years installed negotiations 

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over import taxes and 
infrastructure policy before 

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reaching an agreement with Modi 
in earlier of 2024. 

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As part of the deal, Tesla will 
build a manufacturing plant in 

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India and construction is 
expected to begin in around 

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2026. 
And until then, Tesla will rely 

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on its Berlin factory to supply 
the Indian market with a limited

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number of vehicles, using the 
interim period to test demand 

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and brand acceptance. 
Now, Tesla's Model Y pricing 

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strategy in India mirrors its 
approach in smaller luxury 

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oriented markets where sales 
volumes are low but brand 

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visibility is very important. 
However, the Indian car market 

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is extremely price sensitive 
even in the luxury segment. 

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With Mercedes and BMW, they sell
small numbers of high end 

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vehicles annually. 
Tesla is a relatively unknown 

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quantity in India outside of 
tech savvy consumers and EV 

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enthusiasts. 
They kind of have to start all 

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over when they go over to India.
Company will have to convince 

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those buyers to pay more for a 
brand that doesn't yet have 

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widespread service centers. 
There's barely any charging 

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infrastructure or customer 
support operations in that 

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country, and the company has not
disclosed expected sales volumes

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for India. 
But sources say the Tesla's 

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planning for expectations are 
very conservatives, with fewer 

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than 1000 units to be targeted 
for India in the first year. 

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Now, Tesla's priority in this 
phase is to gauge consumer 

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response to the vehicle and test
its logistics and service 

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capabilities. 
Companies also recruiting for 

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sales, service and charging 
teams across by Delhi and the 

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whole nation. 
So several Indian automakers 

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have also criticized the 
government's decision to give 

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tax breaks to Tesla, an outside 
company, from an outside foreign

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soil. 
Executives at Tata Motors and 

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Mahindra have publicly said that
any policy favoring imports 

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undermines local EV innovation. 
However, the government sees 

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Tesla's presence as a way to 
bring global attention and 

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technology transfer to India's 
EV ecosystem. 

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Officials involved in the policy
decision said the long term goal

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is to attract not only Tesla and
Elon Musk but other 

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international EV players like 
Rivian, Polestar and Lucid to 

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establish factories and also R&D
centers in India. 

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It's going to be a win for India
if all of these companies get in

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there. 
There's going to be a major tax 

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breaks for these companies, but 
also eventually the state and 

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Government of India will be 
making money from these. 

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Sales to Tesla's first batch of 
Model Y units for India will 

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include both rear wheel drive 
and dual motor all-wheel drive 

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variance. 
And get this, the top end 

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version is $78,000 USD. 
Now that's the price which 

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includes the reduced import duty
offered under the new policy, 

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which Tesla received by 
committing to invest at least 

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$500 million in to begin 
production within three years. 

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Even with the reduced tariff 
though dropping from over 100% 

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to 15%, the price remains far 
above what most Indian consumers

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can afford or justify justify to
pay. 

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The car will initially be sold 
only online, with deliveries 

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expected to begin in earlier 
2026. 

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Tesla's following its global 
strategy of direct to consumer 

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sales without third party 
dealerships. 

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This model has proven difficult 
in India in the past, where 

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consumers are more accustomed to
interacting with dealership 

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networks and value on site after
sales service. 

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Tesla's digital first approach 
may further limit its appeal 

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unless it can build a service 
infrastructure quickly enough to

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reassure buyers that if 
something happens to their 

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vehicle, Tesla will be there for
them. 

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Now they don't really have much 
of A charging infrastructure for

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Tesla vehicles over there. 
It's a major bottleneck for 

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them. 
But Tesla has announced plans to

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deploy its Supercharger network 
across 3 metro areas initially, 

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but expansion will depend on 
partnership with energy firms in

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India and also the Public 
Utilities there. 

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Most Indian cities still lack 
widespread EV charging stations 

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and long distance travel remains
impractical for EVs without 

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dependable public or semi public
charging grid. 

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Thus is in early stage 
discussions with Reliance and 

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Tata Power to Co develop high 
speed chargers along highways. 

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But there's no agreements that 
have been finalized as of yet. 

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Now Indian financial 
institutions are also unsure how

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to structure loans or leases for
a product has no historical 

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resale value in the country. 
Now, used Teslas currently don't

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exist in India and banks will 
need time to develop valuation 

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models. 
This adds another layer of 

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friction to purchases like what 
do you do with your Tesla after 

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five years? 
What's the price? 

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What are you going to get for 
it? 

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How can you trade it in? 
There's no structure for that 

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yet. 
It's brand new over there. 

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You know there's friction for 
those purchases since even 

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wealthy buyers often rely on 
financing for high value car 

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purchases to take advantage of 
tax benefits or investment 

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flexibility. 
Now Tesla. 

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The launch in India comes at a 
time when the government is 

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pushing hard to electrify 
transportation and also reduce 

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oil imports. 
India imports over 85% of its 

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crude oil and electric mobility 
is a central part of its energy 

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policy. 
However, electrification in 

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India has centered on two and 
three Wheelers which make up 

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about 80% of vehicle sales. 
Government has supported public 

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bus electrification and last 
mile delivery EVs but private 

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car electrification is still 
Mason with under 3% of new car 

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sales being electric now. 
This is India's strategy begins 

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with a branding play rather than
a volume play. 

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They're going to have about 1000
models go out. 

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Company is not entering with an 
expectation to compete on price 

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or dominating sales. 
Instead, we use this launch to 

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establish a foothold, sneak in, 
build operational muscle and 

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prepare for a more competitive 
phase once local production 

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starts. 
And also when you get an 

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infrastructure and they have 
charging stations and they have 

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service stations and they have 
the people on the ground to help

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out. 
Now, the real test though, of 

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Tesla's India ambitions will 
come after its factory begins 

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production in 2027, allowing the
company to sell cars without 

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import duties. 
And it prices closer to Indian 

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EVs, but nowhere near the normal
cost of a car there, which is 

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under $20,000, and other EVs, 
which are usually around $30,000

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USD. 
It's official though, Tesla is 

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heading to India. 
Hey, thank you so much for 

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listening today. 
I really do appreciate your 

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support. 
If you could take a second and 

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hit the subscribe or the follow 
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appreciate it. 
It helps out the show 

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tremendously and you'll never 
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And each episode is about 10 
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please take care of yourselves 
and each other and I'll see you 

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tomorrow.