स्तम्भ Stambh · Udyamnīti
Second Place, Ten Years Late
I put down deposits on two Tesla Model 3s in 2016. Neither came. Ten years on Tesla is second among India’s luxury electric cars. It has learnt to price for India and to build for Indian families. It has not yet learnt to make anything here.
Nikhil Sharma · उद्यमनीति Udyamnīti · 25 October 2026 · 4 min read
I hold no position in Tesla or any carmaker named here. My own Model 3 deposits were refunded. Every figure is sourced at the end.
In 2016 I reserved two Tesla Model 3s for India. Ten years later Tesla is finally selling cars here. I am still waiting to see it build one.
I was in Hong Kong in 2016 for RISE, consulting a startup in the NS Transform programme. Outside the hotel stood a Maserati, then an S-Class, then a Tesla. Three cars, three answers to the same question about the future. I booked that evening: two Model 3s at $1,000 each. Tesla later sent a beautiful invitation card. The cars never came. A few years on I asked for the deposits back.
I was not alone. Elon Musk had said in 2016 that Tesla would reach India before Model 3 production began. It reached India in July 2025.
संख्या · What the second place is
The headline says Tesla is now second in India after BMW. It is true, and narrower than it sounds. By Vahan registrations Tesla was the second-largest luxury electric car brand in August and September 2026. In September it registered 291 cars to BMW’s 502, ahead of Mercedes-Benz at 125 and Volvo at 45.
It is not second for the year. BMW sold 2,359 electric cars in the first half of 2026 alone. Tesla has registered a little over 1,000 cars in India since its first delivery in September 2025.
सही · What Tesla got right
It cut the price. On 29 May 2026 the entry Model Y fell by ₹9 lakh to ₹50.89 lakh. Its luxury-segment registrations went from 35 in June to 115 in July. Indian buyers are not short of money for a good car. They are short of patience for a bad price.
It built for the Indian family. The six-seat Model Y L launched in April at ₹61.99 lakh. In September 81% of Tesla’s Indian cars were the Model Y L. Three rows matter in a country where the grandparents come along.
It built the network before the volume. Six showrooms, eight service sites and 20 Superchargers by October 2026. A buyer does not need many chargers. He needs to believe there will be one.
बाकी · What it has not got right
It still makes nothing here. Every Model Y comes fully built from Shanghai and pays import duty. India offered a cut to 15% for makers who invest about ₹4,150 crore and localise. Tesla did not apply. No carmaker did.
It is small in a market that is not. India sold 35,995 electric cars in September 2026, up 94% in a year. Tata sold 14,769 and Mahindra 7,779. BYD sold 836, almost three times Tesla. VinFast sold 2,963 cars it assembles in India.
Trade deals will not rescue it. The India–US deal of February 2026 cuts duties on large petrol and diesel cars and leaves electric cars out. The India–EU deal keeps electric car duties where they are for five years.
A country of 1.4 billion is not an export market. It is a place to build.
सीख · What a founder can take from it
Price for the market you are in, not the one you left. The ₹9 lakh cut did more in three months than the brand did in a year.
Fit the product to the household. The six-seat car outsold the five-seat one about four to one.
Arrive when you say you will. Ten years of reservations taught a generation of Indian buyers to wait for Tesla. Some of them stopped waiting.
Make in the country you want to sell in. India rewards those who build here. Tata and Mahindra have shown it at home. VinFast is showing it as a newcomer.
श्रेय · Credit where due
Tesla deserves credit for the price cut and the Model Y L, which read India better than its first launch did. Tata Motors and Mahindra deserve credit for building India’s electric car market before any foreign brand took it seriously. The Union government deserves credit for an EV policy that offers a fair trade: lower duty for real investment.
What I am not saying
I am not saying Tesla has failed in India. Second place in four months is not failure. I am saying it has learnt to sell here and not yet to stay.
I am not saying buy or sell anything. This is not investment advice.
Gurugram, 25 October 2026.
Sources, checked 25 October 2026. Luxury electric car registrations: AutoPunditz, September 2026; August 2026; July 2026; June 2026; Autocar Professional, 3 Oct 2026. BMW in the first half: Business Today, 9 Jul 2026. Tesla’s monthly registrations and network: Autocar India, 5 Oct 2026. The Model Y L share: Electrek, 6 Oct 2026. The whole market: Autocar India, 2 Oct 2026. The price cut: RushLane, 29 May 2026. The Model Y L launch: Business Today, 22 Apr 2026. The Mumbai launch and imports from Shanghai: PTI via The Week, 15 Jul 2025. The EV scheme: Inc42; Tesla and the trade deals: Business Today, 9 Feb 2026; Business Today, 29 Jan 2026. Musk on India in 2016: Electrek, 2 Apr 2016. RISE 2016: State Library of Queensland.