Tesla has registered just 993 vehicles in India since it began deliveries there in September 2025, according to registration data collected by Indian electric vehicle publication ElecTree.
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Of these, 294 were registered in September 2026 alone, marking a record month for Tesla in India, following price cuts and the launch of the six-seat Model Y L. Tesla launched its operations in India in July 2025 with a Model Y priced at around $70,000, almost double what it cost in the US at the time. The initial pricing was considered absurd and the numbers reflect that. Tesla registered 69 cars in the first month of deliveries, September 2025, and did not exceed that number for the next eight months.
It closed 2025 with 226 registrations and added only 202 more between January and May 2026, with February being particularly low with 29 cars.
By January, Tesla had already started offering discounts on unsold Model Ys from its first batch of imports. In May, India’s Minister of Heavy Industries confirmed that Tesla would not build a factory in India, meaning that every car sold there continues to be imported, subject to the associated tariffs.
The data covers 13 calendar months, from September 2025 to September 2026. If only the first 12 months are counted, Tesla registered 699 cars.
These numbers represent registrations, not deliveries, as Tesla doesn't report sales by country. So registrations are the closest available metric. In the last four months, Tesla registered 565 cars, up from 428 registrations in the first nine months.
The Model YL was the main contributor, with 425 registrations in four months, compared to 425 registrations for the base Model Y in 13 months. In September, the six-seat model accounted for 81% of Tesla's registrations in India.
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The Model YL went on sale in the U.S. in July with a price tag of $61,990. Before taxes and fees, Indian buyers pay about $3,000, close to the U.S. price for an imported car, despite import duties of up to 110 percent. A year ago, Tesla was asking nearly double that.
Tesla has also expanded its presence, starting with showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, and Gurugram, and has since opened locations in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Noida.
India registered 35,995 electric cars in September, a 98% increase from the previous year, according to Vahan registration data reported by Autocar Professional. Tata alone registered 14,769 cars. Tesla's record month represents 0.8% of India's electric vehicle market.
In the luxury segment, Tesla is performing better, with BMW registering 502 electric cars in September, Tesla at 291 and Mercedes-Benz at 125. Tesla is now the second largest luxury electric vehicle brand in India, holding about 30% of the segment, up from 69 cars in the same month last year.
A notable comparison is with VinFast, which registered its first cars in India the same month as Tesla. However, VinFast assembles its vehicles at a plant in Tamil Nadu and prices its SUVs between ₹18 lakh and ₹23 lakh (about $19,000 to $24,000). VinFast registered 2,963 cars in India in September, three times Tesla’s total in 13 months, in just one month. While the price brackets differ, this highlights the advantages of local assembly in India.
In January, it was noted that selling a $40,000 car for $70,000 wouldn’t generate high volume. Tesla tried that strategy and only managed to sell 40 to 60 cars a month. After cutting the entry price by 15% and introducing a larger vehicle for less than the previous top model, Tesla’s registrations are now approaching 300 a month.
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The impact of the price changes on volume compared to expansions in other cities remains unclear. However, it appears that Tesla is not abandoning the Indian market despite its mediocre performance.
