Tesla’s India launch is off to a dismal start. The company has sold just over 100 Model Y units since deliveries began in September, and its new pitch to Indian buyers is that they can recover one-third of the $67,000 price tag through fuel and maintenance savings over four to five years, Reuters reports.

The problem? That $22,000 in projected savings equals the price of an entire car in India’s mainstream market.

Tesla Opens Biggest India Center Amid Weak Sales

Tesla India General Manager Sharad Agarwal made the cost-savings pitch on Wednesday at the opening of Tesla’s biggest sales and service center in Gurugram, neighboring Delhi.

“Tesla does not provide a maintenance schedule because most of the service is done remotely through software updates which reduces the cost of ownership,” Agarwal told reporters. “And the cost of home charging is one tenth of petrol prices.”

The math sounds compelling until you consider the context. Tesla is targeting a niche EV segment that accounts for just 5% of overall sales in the world’s third-largest car market. Analysts estimate the majority of cars sold in India are priced below $22,000.

Tesla’s Model Y starts at approximately $67,000 in India after the country’s punishing 100% import tariff on foreign vehicles. That’s roughly 70% higher than U.S. pricing and among the most expensive Model Y variants globally.

100 Sales In Three Months Signals Deeper Problems

The sales figures speak louder than any savings projection.

Since starting deliveries in September, Tesla has moved just over 100 Model Y units based on Indian government registration data. To put that in perspective, Tesla sells roughly 100 vehicles globally every four hours.

VinFast, the Vietnamese EV maker, actually outsold Tesla in India during September and October, moving 137 cars versus Tesla’s 109, according to Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations data.

Tesla entered India in July with its imported Model Y, shipped from the Shanghai Gigafactory. The company opened its first experience center in Mumbai on July 15, followed by a second location in Delhi. Wednesday’s Gurugram opening marks the third major retail push.

New Leadership Faces Uphill Battle

Agarwal joined Tesla earlier in November after serving as head of Lamborghini India, where he helped the Italian supercar brand dominate the country’s ultra-luxury segment. His hiring reflects Tesla’s strategic pivot toward India’s wealthy elite rather than mass-market aspirations.

The appointment fills a leadership vacuum left when previous India chief Prashanth Menon resigned in May, just as the company prepared for its market entry. Operations were temporarily managed from China and regional hubs before Agarwal’s arrival.

Tesla is gradually rolling out its Supercharger network starting with Mumbai, Delhi, and Gurugram. But infrastructure investment without volume sales creates a challenging business case.

Competition Intensifies From All Directions

Tesla faces fierce competition in India from multiple fronts.

Homegrown rivals Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra dominate the affordable EV space with vehicles priced around $17,000 to $25,000. Tata’s Nexon EV has become the default choice for budget-conscious Indian EV buyers.

Global players including SAIC Motor’s India unit and VinFast are also expanding aggressively. BYD, Tesla’s most formidable global competitor, has established a growing presence across India’s metro markets with competitive pricing.

The common thread among Tesla’s competitors? Vehicles priced within reach of India’s growing middle class.

EVXL’s Take

Tesla’s India strategy reveals a company struggling to adapt its premium positioning to markets where affordability drives purchase decisions. The “save $22,000 over five years” pitch inadvertently proves how disconnected Tesla’s pricing is from Indian market realities. When your cost-recovery argument spans half a decade, you’re not selling accessibility; you’re selling math that only works for the ultra-wealthy.

This isn’t an isolated stumble. Tesla’s India challenges connect directly to the global struggles we’ve been documenting throughout 2025.

Just yesterday, we reported that India’s EV market doubled while Tata’s dominance collapsed as Tesla, VinFast, and Chinese competitors flooded into one of the world’s last remaining growth markets. The timing seemed promising for Tesla’s expansion. Instead, the American automaker is being outpaced by a Vietnamese startup in a market it spent years preparing to enter.

The leadership instability didn’t help. When Tesla’s India chief quit in May just as the company prepared for its market launch, we warned that the China team stepping in might bring expertise but would struggle to understand India’s unique landscape. Five months later, that prediction has proven accurate.

Tesla’s refusal to manufacture locally continues to haunt its pricing strategy. Back in June, we covered how India finalized its EV policy but Tesla hesitated on local production plans. The Heavy Industries Ministry explicitly stated Tesla showed no interest in domestic manufacturing. That decision now means every Model Y carries a 100% import duty that doubles its effective cost.

The pattern extends beyond India. Tesla’s China sales fell 9.9% in October as even BYD struggled amid brutal price war conditions. In the UK, BYD overtook Tesla as Chinese EV sales surged sixfold. And in the United States, the expiration of federal EV tax credits triggered a 24% collapse in October EV sales.

India was supposed to be Tesla’s next growth frontier. Instead, 100 sales in three months suggests it’s becoming another market where Tesla’s premium positioning meets harsh economic reality. Unless tariffs drop significantly or Tesla commits to local manufacturing, expect this pattern to continue.

The company that once disrupted the automotive industry with accessible electric vehicles now finds itself priced out of the world’s fastest-growing markets.