Tesla, renowned for its luxury and high-cost vehicles, is poised to make a foray into the Indian market at an affordable price. The company is actively working on its plan, with a focus on reducing the cost of batteries, a crucial and expensive component in electric cars. According to a report by Mint, Tesla has informed the Indian government of its intent to develop smaller batteries, with ongoing efforts already in progress in China.
However, there is one problem with smaller batteries: they will not be able to travel long distances. For that, a network of battery charging stations will be needed across the country. According to available data, the number of battery charging stations in India is around 9,300. In comparison, there are about 1,38,000 vehicle charging stations in the United States. Smaller batteries will have less energy storage, and therefore the car will be able to travel a shorter distance on a single charge. For example, the base variant of Tesla's Model 3 has a 57.5-kWh battery. Once fully charged, this car can travel up to 435 kilometers. Meanwhile, this is Tesla's most affordable car. The price of this car is $40,000, which is equivalent to ₹33 lakh in Indian rupees.
By increasing the number of battery charging stations and reducing the size of the battery, the cost of the car can be reduced significantly. The Mint report said that if the battery size is reduced, Tesla can launch a car in India for up to ₹20 lakh. At this price, cars like Creta and XUV700 are sold in India. Experts believe that a battery with a smaller capacity will be suitable for daily use. They say that most people do not drive their cars for 400-500 kilometers a day. There are fast charging stations in India, but their number is very small. At a fast charging station, the country's most popular electric car, Tata Nexon, charges from 20 to 80 percent in an hour. On this, the car can travel 200 kilometers. Tesla also claims that their fast charging gives a range of 230 kilometers in 15 minutes.
When will Tesla come to India?
Talks have been going on for days about the arrival of Tesla cars in India. Tesla CEO Elon Musk met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June last year. After that, the discussion about Tesla's entry into India became even more intense. In this context, talks are also underway between the Indian government and Tesla at the highest official level. According to a report, Tesla is considering investing an additional $2 billion or ₹16,000 crore in India. However, the company's condition is that import duty should be waived for imported cars for the first 2 years and only 15 percent duty should be levied. Meanwhile, currently there is a duty of 70-100 percent on imported electric cars.