Tesla to run on Indian roads
Tesla will start its operations in India by setting up its own sales network and manufacturing unit.
Features
The Tesla lineup. Credits: Autocar India
Mohd Haroon Siddiqi
Bengaluru: The world’s number one electric car by Tesla will be launched in India by early this year. As reported to the Indian Express by Mr Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Tesla will start its operations in the country by setting up its own sales network and then start with its assembly and manufacturing unit based on public response.
Tesla is an American electric vehicle company based in Palo Alto, California. It is named after Nicola Tesla, founder, who was also an electrical engineer. As Elon Musk contributed most of the funding for the company in its initial days, he has been appointed as the CEO since 2008.
Tesla will start off with “Model 3” as it is the most affordable car- model to launch for the company. Overseas, the Tesla Model 3 will operate with both single and dual-motor options. Opening the line-up is the rear-wheel-drive Standard Range Plus, which has a range of 423 km and the capacity to touch first 100 km/h speed in less than six seconds. A dual-motor version has the Long Range AWD, which can touch 100 kilometres per hour in first 4.5 seconds covering a total distance of 568 km. The range-topping performance speeds from 0 to 100 km/h in just three seconds by achieving the top-most-speed of 260 km/h. Upgraded brakes are also an add-on feature to this.
One of the most fascinating features of Tesla cars is the autopilot mode, which is an advanced driving mechanism designed by the company. The company stated that Autopilot was designed to assist drivers by reducing their burden of driving. It also wishes to make cars safer and more capable over time. But there is a huge difference between the roads in India and those abroad. The mode will not be easy to adjust according to the nature of Indian drivers on roads, the autopilot mode would require additional guidance through which the vehicle would be able to judge the curves and turn on the highways accordingly, these are some of the technical details to know initially, but the public response may lead to a few more alterations in the model.
Tesla has planned to ship the vehicles as CBUs (Completely Build-Up) where the cars would be imported as a whole unit. Tesla’s Model 3 prices in India are expected to cost around Rs 55 lakh, with slight price variations in top-end models.
