Tesla to open its first showroom in Mumbai

The American electric vehicle company Tesla has entered the Indian market by signing a lease agreement to set up a showroom at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. This is as per one of the reports released by the news site The Times of India. This deal is said to be the highest value commercial real estate lease signed for a single showroom in India.

As per details in the report, Tesla will occupy 4,000 square feet on the ground floor of an office tower in BKC, from where it will showcase its cars. The company is required to pay a monthly rental of approximately Rs 900 per square foot which totals about Rs 35 lakh per month. The agreement is for a term of five years. Besides, the company also intends to open a new showroom in Aerocity, Delhi.

This report comes soon after the Modi-Musk meeting,  where Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk met the Modi government in Washington. Shortly after the meeting, Tesla began listing 13 jobs in India, which goes to show their intention to enter the country.

Reports state that Tesla is likely to commence operations in India within the next months as of February. This development has surfaced as a sked to the discussion regarding the India-US bilateral trade agreement, which was made public after the Modi-Trump meeting.

High Import Duty in India and Trump's Anger

There is a high import duty of 110 percent, which poses a significant roadblock for Tesla and similar companies. Trump had contested such high import duties and claimed that they were compelling Tesla to establish a factory in India instead.

In his latest interview, Trump said “If Tesla tries to set up a manufacturing plant in India to skirt around the import taxes then they are trying to do the US a disservice. Every country around the globe has set taxes on us, so it would be nearly impossible to market sell their vehicles in India.”

On the other hand, after Musk advocated lowering import duties in India, the Indian government is now mulling over introducing fresh policy guidelines based on his suggestions.