Why Musk’s iconic Tesla might work in India
When I heard that Elon Musk’s Tesla was likely to come to India this summer, my first response was that this is not going to work. Okay, that’s not exactly true. My first response was ‘this cannot be true!’. My second more sobering thought was ‘but this is not going to work’. I have since changed my mind about all of that.
The reasons for why Tesla doesn’t work in an Indian context are simple. Elon Musk’s larger projects — across his almost science fictional repertoire of companies SpaceX, OpenAI, SolarCity— are about reducing humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels but India still works largely on coalbased energy.
Besides, large parts of India still don’t have electricity in their homes. How are we going to get Supercharger Stations? Also, what about the state of roads? Self-driving cars in India are a distant dream, I argued to my friends, just like clean public toilets and the eradication of caste discrimination.
And then one of them said, ‘forget the self drive, but in Gurgaon, it is easy to install charging points in those people’s garages who can afford to buy a Tesla’. And then it struck me that he was right.
Even if self-driven cars won’t work in India, Tesla still can. If Tesla doesn’t care where the car’s electricity comes from, there won’t be much of a problem. Moreover, the Tesla Model X has a great suspension system and a ground clearance that is better than many luxury cars in India (Model X has a ground clearance of 183mm, Mahindra Scorpio 180mm, Toyota Corolla Altis 175mm, Volkswagen Jetta 159mm), which will make it easier to drive on potholed roads . As for charging points, a single charge is expected to be able to give the Model X 346km.
Tesla’s cars are intended for the luxury car market, given the most inexpensive Model 3 is priced at a little above ₹23 lakh without taxes; and the car may draw the 60% customs duty on electric cars in India, unless they plan to manufacture or at least assemble the car here for a tax break.
Other than selling because of its brand value, there is a possibility that Tesla and Musk may be able to bring about some much needed changes in the way that we look at off-grid electricity and electric and hybrid vehicles in India. Tesla also brings with it the possibility of its subsidiary company SolarCity also coming to India, which (in the US) sells renewable energy commercially at prices below utility rates, making it possible to go completely off-grid.