Tesla loses its charm for India's loyalists — even as Musk finally delivers

[ad_1] Tesla opened the doorways to its first showroom in India this week, and among the many first guests was Vishal Gondal — a longtime Tesla and Elon Musk loyalist who pre-booked a Mannequin 3 in April 2016, simply hours after reservations went dwell. However regardless of displaying up on day one, Gondal says he has no plans to purchase a Tesla now.

“I felt slightly bit underwhelmed,” mentioned Gondal, founder and CEO of fitness-tech startup GOQii, after visiting the maiden Tesla showroom in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Advanced.

Over the higher a part of a decade, Gondal held out hope for Tesla’s debut in India. However his pleasure soured when he needed to chase the corporate for a refund in 2023 — sending a number of emails simply to get his $1,000 reservation payment.

“Attempting to get the cash again was an issue,” he instructed TechCrunch. “And the joke was, had we invested that cash in Tesla IPO inventory, we'd have made extra money.”

Gondal is among the many earliest backers of Tesla in India — somebody who pre-booked a automobile lengthy earlier than there have been any ensures. However 9 years on, it appears lots of these early believers will not be celebrating the launch and have as a substitute made up their thoughts to not go along with Tesla, not less than on its debut.

These backers by no means received their Mannequin 3s, for which they paid the reservation payment quickly after Musk promised to launch the automobile within the nation. And a few, like Gondal, even waited and tried laborious for years to get the refund, whereas some received it in Could, simply a few months earlier than Tesla’s formal debut.

“It's irritating to see Tesla take so lengthy. I imply, our authorities and processes and pink carpet are laborious, but it surely’s hilarious that even Starlink has gotten approval in a shorter interval,” mentioned Varun Krishnan, who runs tech weblog FoneArena from Chennai and can be one among Tesla’s early backers in India.

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Tesla didn't invite these loyalists to go to its Mumbai showroom, nor did it give them an replace on the launch.

The 6,000-square-foot Tesla showroom is situated in Maker Maxity Mall, close to Apple’s first retailer within the nation. Nonetheless, Gondal mentioned Tesla’s retailer was nowhere close to just like that of the Apple retailer launch.

“When Apple launched their showroom in the identical place, the thrill that Apple was in a position to create versus the thrill that Tesla was in a position to create, there's a world of distinction,” he mentioned.

Gondal went to the Tesla showroom in his Audi e-Tron, which he had purchased the earlier 12 months, after ready a very long time for the Mannequin 3.

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“This felt just like the coldest launch,” mentioned Amit Bhavani, founding father of tech weblog Phoneradar, who additionally pre-reserved the Mannequin 3 in 2016.

Bhavani finally received the $1,000 refund after criticizing Tesla in a video launched on YouTube in 2020.

The video obtained feedback from dozens of people that had additionally reserved the Mannequin 3 in India and have been ready for a refund, he mentioned.

“That’s after I felt that the entire love for Tesla grew to become an actual hatred for Tesla,” he instructed TechCrunch.

“The least Tesla may have achieved was e mail all of the individuals who reserved the automobile earlier and mentioned, ‘Guys, we're going to have a particular occasion for you’,” Gondal mentioned. “These individuals actually went out of their method, and regardless that let’s say it’s not a giant quantity, it was saying that we help Tesla.”

Some others, like Kawaljit Singh Bedi, mentioned they haven't any regrets about supporting Tesla, though they obtained the refund simply earlier than the launch this 12 months. However, they're additionally not trying to purchase a Tesla quickly.

“In any case these years I've waited, I’m in no hurry to purchase it now and change into the primary one to have it, as a result of what’s the purpose? I waited 9 years? I can wait 9 years and 6 months extra,” mentioned Singh, co-founder and CTO of Frammer AI.

“Most of them who had put of their early vote of confidence are dissatisfied, together with, I do know, Vishal and Vijay [Shekhar Sharma of Paytm],” mentioned Krishnan. “Folks like Vishal or Vijay, they're taken with plenty of authority. So, if they're shopping for one thing, there can be 100 individuals going by their phrase.”

Sharma, founder and CEO of Indian fintech large Paytm, echoed feedback from different early backers, telling TechCrunch that he wouldn't go along with Tesla and would somewhat wait for a bigger portfolio of vehicles.

“It might be a bit too late,” he mentioned. “There are such a lot of different choices with price-value math extra fitted to India.”

The years-long delay in Tesla’s launch — together with not being invited to the showroom opening — has left among the model’s earliest Indian loyalists feeling let down, mentioned Arun Bhatt, founding father of Tesla Membership India, who additionally pre-booked a Mannequin 3 in 2016

“You paid one thing and also you ardently waited for 10 years, after which out of the blue, they simply inform you, we’ll cancel it and we’ll refund, then what occurs — 10 years having waited for one thing, will we be given preferential remedy?” he questioned. “There’s zero communication concerning that. So, eight out of 10 reservation holders are annoyed.”

Bhatt began the membership with one other Tesla fanatic and Delhi College pupil, Nikhil Chaudhary, in 2019 as a casual group for individuals having an curiosity within the EV carmaker. Nevertheless, he instructed TechCrunch that as a result of delay in Tesla’s launch within the nation, the membership has slowly modified from a Tesla consciousness membership to an EV and clear vitality consciousness membership.

No readability on after-sales and native Supercharger community

One of many issues that many Tesla early backers have is the shortage of readability on how Tesla will arrange the Supercharger community within the nation and deal with after-sales care. The corporate introduced that it could set up eight charging stations, equally distributed throughout Delhi and Mumbai, earlier than beginning its deliveries in Q3. Nevertheless, it's unclear whether or not these shall be adequate to offer sufficient backing to Tesla drivers in these two cities. Moreover, there aren't any bulletins concerning how Tesla plans to deal with after-sales service of its vehicles in India.

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“Having gotten older in 9 years, I’ve additionally gotten extra prudent in my automobile buy course of. I’m extra fearful about sensible issues than simply the Tesla model tag, which I fell in love with 10 years in the past,” mentioned Krishnan of FoneArena.

“There isn't a actual pleasure to personal the primary automobile, realizing that there isn't any Supercharger community additionally,” Kawaljit of Frammer AI mentioned.

Musk’s political curiosity and even conflict with Trump are turning off some Indian drivers

In latest months, Musk’s public persona has undergone a shift — from a visionary entrepreneur working a number of corporations to a polarizing political determine within the U.S. This transformation has impacted Tesla’s inventory and enterprise not solely in America but additionally in key worldwide markets. India seems to be no exception.

“After the entire elections and the politics, and no matter is going on, I don’t see Elon with the identical colours as what I used to,” FoneArena’s Krishnan mentioned.

Kunal Khattar, an EV-focused investor in India and founding father of VC agency AdvantEdge Founders, echoed Krishnan’s sentiment, saying Tesla has misplaced “slightly little bit of its shine” as a result of a number of elements — together with Musk’s political involvement, his alignment with Trump, and the general public fallout that adopted.

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1280" src="https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3029165" srcset="https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg 1920w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=680,453 680w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=1280,853 1280w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=430,287 430w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=720,480 720w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=900,600 900w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=668,445 668w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=563,375 563w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=926,617 926w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=708,472 708w, https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/kunal-khattar-tesla-india-store.jpg?resize=50,33 50w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px"/> Picture Credit:Kunal Khattar

“Folks used to assume Tesla is saving the world, it’s saving the local weather, and this and that, it’s now not there,” he mentioned.

Khattar was invited to the Tesla launch in Mumbai. Similar to Gondal of GOQii and others, he additionally described it as “underwhelming” and “not like a typical automobile launch.”

The 1% playground

Tesla has launched the Mannequin Y in India, beginning at ₹59,89,000 (roughly $68,000). Some evaluate the India pricing with that of the Mannequin Y within the U.S., which begins at $44,990 (₹38,71,000). Nevertheless, the carmaker is importing the automobile from China — somewhat than manufacturing it regionally within the nation — one thing that the business generally refers to as a Fully Constructed-Up (CBU). This provides as much as tariffs that Tesla is about to pay for a while, till it decides to arrange an area manufacturing unit, and thus, clients should pay an exorbitant value.

In India, the premium section, which begins from ₹35,00,000 (roughly $40,700) and goes as much as ₹1,00,00,000 (roughly $116,200), contains simply 1% of the full automobile gross sales in India, roughly 50,000 autos. Nevertheless, in that 1%, electrical vehicles have nearly a ten% share to date, per Puneet Gupta, director, S&P World Mobility.

“With Tesla coming in, and if Tesla actually begins manufacturing in India, perhaps two years down the road, there isn't any doubt about it that it'll make a powerful case for all these OEMs [original equipment manufacturers], together with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi, to make a automobile for our Indian buyer for the primary time,” he mentioned. “The issue is that India has by no means been in a position to persuade these OEMs that they'll actually make an India-centric product, and it'll have adequate volumes.”

Total, electrical automobile gross sales in India accounted for simply 2.5% of the full market in 2024, per Counterpoint. However it was “nearly negligible” in 2016, when Tesla initially introduced its entry. This was additionally the explanation why individuals confirmed plenty of curiosity in Tesla again then.

“Today, everybody can get a stupendous, superb, tremendous highly effective electrical automobile in India. So, Tesla shouldn't be one thing ‘wow’ worthy, apart from 5-10 minutes, individuals ought to ask to only have a look inside it,” Bhawani of PhoneRadar mentioned.

India’s vehicle large Tata Motors has dominated the nation’s electrical automobile market in recent times, although others — together with China’s MG Motor, which just lately signed a three way partnership with Indian conglomerate JSW Group — are beginning to acquire floor.

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The premium section stays area of interest within the nation, although the growing variety of high-net-worth people has led to a 66 p.c year-over-year rise within the gross sales of premium EVs throughout the first 5 months of 2025, Abhik Mukherjee, a analysis analyst for automotive and IoT at Counterpoint, instructed TechCrunch.

BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Volvo, and choose fashions from Hyundai and Kia are sitting within the section the place Tesla has introduced the Mannequin Y to the nation.

“Tesla’s present value level is unlikely to trigger any dent to the manufacturers working inside that value vary,” Mukherjee mentioned.

Nonetheless, Tesla’s debut is probably going to attract some buyer consideration to electrical vehicles in a market the place two-wheelers dominate the EV house.

“Folks will not less than put EVs of their consideration set. Will Tesla promote plenty of vehicles? I don’t assume so … Will Tesla enhance the gross sales of different EV manufacturers? I feel so,” Khattar of AdvantEdge Founders mentioned.