Tesla is offering discounts on about one-third of the vehicles it imported to India late last year, as the company struggles sell off inventory units from early bookings that were later canceled.
The information was first reported by Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company is offering deals of up to ₹200,000 ($2,215) on certain variants of the SUV, according to the sources.
The Model Y’s starting price in India hits $70,000 due to the country’s duty of 110% on imported vehicles priced over $40,000.
Despite lower tariffs on local production, Tesla does not intend to manufacture in India.
In addition, vehicles are subject to city-specific taxes. In Mumbai, the vehicle has a “on-road” pricing of ₹61,07,190 ($71,200), while in Gurugram, the pricing goes up to ₹66,76,831 ($77,800).
The inventory page on Tesla’s Indian website shows no vehicles available.
Meanwhile, customers configuring a Model Y as of Wednesday are quoted delivery times of 2 to 10 weeks.
Tesla had reportedly received 600 vehicle orders between mid-July and the end of August, ahead of the start of deliveries.
Order Intake
Tesla had originally planned to use its full annual import quota of 2,500 units, but reduced this number after demand fell short of expectations.
To fulfill the bookings, the company planned to ship between 350 and 500 vehicles to India by the end of 2025, based on the fully paid orders it has secured so far.
Bloomberg later said that “a batch of about 300 Model Y”s were sent there.
However, between September and December, only 217 vehicles were registered in the country.
Tesla delivered 60 vehicles in September, followed by 40 in October. Registrations slightly increased to 48 in November and 69 in December.
These numbers indicate that just under 100 units could still be in inventory, although the company did not confirm the import figures.
Retail Network
Tesla officially arrived in India in mid-July, with its first showroom in the Bandra Kurla Complex business center, in Mumbai.
A few weeks later, the company opened a second location at the IGI Airport, New Dheli.
A third location — its largest sales and service hub in the country and first full-scale experience centre in Gurugram, Haryana — joined late last year.
Tesla will further focus on strengthening India’s EV ecosystem and adding Supercharger sites in the country, believing this will help sustain and grow its sales in the country.
The company launched its first charging station at One BKC in Mumbai in August. It featured four V4 Superchargers and four destination chargers.
Four months later, the company announced the opening of the first charging site in Gurugram — also including four Superchargers and three destination chargers.
