Tesla is preparing to officially launch in the Indian market, but ahead of the debut, its local operations are undergoing a leadership transition. Prashanth Menon, who had been with the company for nine years and served as Tesla’s India head and chairman of Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt. for over four years, has resigned.
Menon played a pivotal role in laying the foundation for Tesla’s long-awaited expansion into India, helping to set up its local office in Pune in 2021 and leading efforts to secure the company’s first showroom leases in Mumbai and Delhi earlier this year.
His departure, reportedly for personal reasons, comes just as Tesla moves closer to officially launching vehicle sales in one of the world’s largest auto markets.
According to sources familiar with the matter that spoke with Bloomberg, Tesla’s operations in India will now be overseen by teams from the company’s China division. No successor has been named to fill Menon’s position.
Despite the leadership shakeup, Tesla’s preparations for its India debut continue. The company has listed dozens of new job openings in the country over the last few months, ranging from store managers to service and customer service roles. This wave of hiring comes as Tesla sets to establish a physical presence in India and to support its initial sales and service operations. The company has already secured two showroom locations.
Tesla has also taken steps to streamline its Indian operations ahead of launch. Last month, it began issuing refunds to customers who placed early reservations for the Model 3 as far back as 2016, likely in order to reset its plans to better align with updated vehicle offerings.
Most recently, the company has started hiring for Autopilot Vehicle Operators to test and validate the self-driving software on local roads.
