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In April 2016, Tesla opened a pre-booking site for India, but until still doesn't sell electric cars in the country, which is the world's third-largest car market.
One of the first to pay for the car reservation was Vishal Gondall, the CEO of the medical startup GoQii and a longtime fan of Elon Musk. At that time, the service cost $1,000 and the man spared no expense, although there was no clarity as to whether Tesla would begin delivering cars to India. After 7 years of waiting in vain, Gondall finally decided to cancel the booking – and this was the beginning of another test. For six months, the man bombarded Tesla with letters and received no response – the refund was eventually received, but the client did not hear any apologies.
According to Rest of World, Vishal Gondall is not the only one who has found himself in a similar situation. Some say they became disillusioned with Tesla due to futile waiting and eventually switched to other electric car manufacturers, but the most devoted fans continue to wait for their “charm”.
“It would be weird to say I'd do it again,” says Amit Bhavani, founder of tech blog PhoneRadar, who booked a Model 3 in 2016. “If I see a showroom in Hyderabad with a proper service center, then maybe. But I won't trust Musk anymore.”
Bhavani also did not receive his funds immediately – his YouTube video about the cancellation of the Tesla order contributed to the acceleration. He also described his problems in several publications on X.
“Someone just put me at the front of the line and gave me my money back to keep me quiet,” he said. “I learned that ordinary people who canceled did not receive money, only influential people or people with a blue check mark at that time.”
In 2016, Tesla's decision to open up pre-bookings for the Model 3 in India was met with great excitement. Within hours, several prominent tech and business leaders in the country had booked the car and posted about it on social media. Since then, Musk has named each time new dates for the company’s entry into India: summer 2017, 2019, and “if possible” in mid-2023.
Tesla even registered an Indian subsidiary in Bengaluru in January 2021, but there is still no official channel to buy a Tesla car directly in the country.
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When Musk announced his plan to visit India in early 2024, many expected Tesla to finally talk about manufacturing in the country again. However, just two days before the planned trip, Musk canceled it, and a week later he left for neighboring China.
“People who booked about 8 years ago are not the ones who are worried about the $1,000 bill,” said Yugal Joshi, partner at global research firm Everest Group.
Joshi added that delays in investment (rumored to be in car production and a gigafactory) and Musk's recent cancellation of a trip to India, coupled with his “proximity to China”, are complicating matters in an already uncertain environment.
Until a few years ago, Tesla's website showed a cancel button when a potential customer logged in, but that option has now been removed and replaced with an email ID, says Nikila Chaudhary, co-founder of online community Tesla Club India. The community has more than 18,600 followers on X and, among other things, works to help people cancel reservations on Tesla electric cars. Sometimes you have to hunt down an automaker's employees on LinkedIn to revoke an application.
Varun Krishnan, founder of tech blog FoneArena, claims to be the first person to book a Model 3 in India. He told Rest of World that he received a $1,000 refund in January 2022 after months of communicating with Tesla employees in Hong Kong and California.
Tesla's inflation-adjusted return should be $1,300 in 2024, but the company is returning $1,000.
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“We joke about how much that $1,000 would be worth if we invested in Tesla stock instead,” said Gondal, who now drives an Audi e-tron.
In April 2016, Tesla shares cost $16 per share, and now they have increased 10 times.
For years, Tesla's main problem in India has been its exorbitant import duty, which nearly doubles the price of its cars. On March 15, the Indian government proposed reducing it by 15% – for cars costing $35,000 at 8,000 units per year – if manufacturers set up local production within three years.
Elon Musk at a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the USA , June 20, 2023. Photo: Press Information Bureau of India
According to a Financial Times report, Tesla plans to send employees from the US to look for a gigafactory location in India worth up to $3 billion. The company is also “looking for a liberalized duty regime,” says Mahesh Murthy, founder of venture capital firm Seedfund and digital marketing company Pinstorm. Murthy pre-booked two Model 3s in 2016 but did not seek a refund because he believes Tesla is bullish on India, the circumstances just aren't right yet. According to Murthy, members of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers “lobbied intensely to keep Tesla out.”
Ankur Bisen, senior partner at consulting firm Technopak, says the market is in a slightly different state than when Tesla planned to enter the Indian ecosystem.
“2016 was a completely different era in terms of EV maturity. We didn’t know anyone except Tesla.”
Indians' obsession with Tesla is in line with the global trend, according to Everest Group's Yugal Joshi. He said the company was “ahead of its peers with its minimalist design, features, technology adoption and focus on the driving experience.”
“A Tesla owner can look cool and stand out. People with money can spend a fortune on just these two aspects.”
Based on materials from Rest of World
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