Elon Musk-led electric vehicle company Tesla has finalised a deal to open its first showroom in India at Mumbai’s posh Bandra Kurla Complex, according to a report in the Times of India. The Tesla showroom will reportedly occupy 4,000 square feet of space on the ground floor of a commercial tower in BKC. Elon Musk’s company is said to be paying one of the highest rents for commercial space at ₹900/sq ft, or around ₹35 lakh per month.
Tesla’s showrooms in India:
Tesla is said to have finalised a five-year lease in BKC and the company is also reportedly working on opening a second showroom in Delhi’s Aerocity.
Notably, the finalisation of the lease comes just two weeks after Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s visit to the US. Shortly thereafter, Tesla had also posted a job listing for 13 positions in India.
“We discussed various issues, including those he is passionate about such as space, mobility, technology and innovation. I talked about India’s efforts towards reform and furthering Minimum Government, Maximum Governance,” PM Modi had said after meeting Musk earlier in the month.
Tesla price in India:
According to an earlier report by CNBC-TV18, Tesla is considering importing cars from Berlin and initially selling them in India. Tesla’s initial plan is to bring an EV to India for less than $25,000.
Notably, the price of Tesla cars in the US starts at $35,000 (approximately ₹30.4 lakh) at the factory level. The Tesla Model 3 is the company’s cheapest car in the US.
The CNBC-TV 18 report had stated that Musk hasn’t yet committed to manufacturing in India, but Tesla is said to be sourcing over a billion dollars of components from India and this figure is expected to rise significantly in the coming months.