Earlier this year Tesla incorporated in India, giving owners and fans hope that the automaker would soon launch vehicle sales in the country. Even though there has been no official announcement on Tesla’s entrance into India, the automaker is continuing to have discussions with government officials to lower import duties on electric vehicles (EVs).
While those negotiations continue, the first batch of Tesla Superchargers have reportedly arrived in India.
According to the Tesla Club India Twitter account, a shipment of Tesla Superchargers with CCS2 charging ports arrived in the country last week. The unofficial Tesla Club was not able to verify if they were the newest V3 Superchargers or the previous generation V2 Superchargers.
https://twitter.com/TeslaClubIN/status/1432633417938604037
UPDATE Nov 29 9:43am PST: We now have our first look at the Superchargers, sitting in a warehouse waiting to be installed somewhere in India.
https://twitter.com/TeslaClubIN/status/1465285252537008134
The arrival of the Superchargers is definitely an interesting development in Tesla’s ongoing efforts to launch in India. The company’s website does not list any proposed stations in India, but that could change with their quarterly update next month.
Even without a Supercharger station, the company is still testing the Model 3 and Model Y in India. At least two camouflaged Model 3s have been spotted in recent months, which one of them appearing to sit higher off the ground, hinting Tesla may be trying out a different suspension set up to better tackle India’s roads.
https://twitter.com/TeslaClubIN/status/1433367695517388812
Last month a right-hand drive (RHD) Model Y was also seen testing in India. It has been spotted several times since then, and marks the first time a RHD unit has been seen on public roads anywhere in the world, confirming it is in fact owned by Tesla and is in the country for testing.
https://twitter.com/TeslaClubIN/status/1433080922706907136
Tesla has been lobbying the government for several months to lower their import taxes on EVs in an effort to finally launch in India. One proposal seeks the import tax rate to be reduced from 100% down to 60% for EVs over $100,000. For EVs priced below $40,000 they are seeking a reduction from 60% down to 40%.
The government appears to be warming up to the idea, recently saying they would like more information from Elon Musk on how Tesla plans to do business in the country before committing to any tax cuts.
