Tesla hits 993 registrations in India's first year, ramps up

Tesla registered 993 vehicles in India in its first year of sales, according to data compiled by Indian EV publication ElecTree. The figure covers September 2025 through September 2026, a 13-month window. Excluding the first month, the tally is 699 cars in the first 12 months.

The automaker launched in India in July 2025 with a Model Y priced at about $70,000, roughly double its then-U.S. price. Registrations hit 69 in its first month of deliveries and stayed low for most of the next year. Tesla finished 2025 with 226 registrations. Between January and May 2026, it added only 202 more. February was the low point at 29 cars.

By January, Tesla was already discounting unsold Model Ys from its first import batch. In May, India's Minister of Heavy Industries confirmed that Tesla won't build a factory in India, meaning every car sold there remains an import subject to duties of up to 110%.

Tesla made two price moves this spring. On April 22, it launched the six-seat Model Y L at roughly $65,000, cheaper than the five-seat Model Y Long Range it then dropped. In late May, it cut the entry-level Model Y by 15%, bringing the starting price to about $53,000.

Registrations took off. Tesla registered 294 cars in September 2026, a record month. The Model Y L accounted for 81% of that, with 425 registrations in four months matching what the entry-level Model Y managed in 13. From June through September, Tesla logged 565 registrations, more than the 428 it managed in its first nine months.

India registered nearly 36,000 electric cars in September, up 98% from a year ago, according to Vahan registration data reported by Autocar Professional. Tesla's record month represents 0.8% of that market. In the luxury EV segment, BMW led with 502 electric cars in September, Tesla had 291, and Mercedes-Benz 125. Tesla is now the second-largest luxury EV brand in India, with about 30% of the segment, up from 69 cars in September 2025.

Tesla has expanded its retail presence. It started with showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, and Gurugram, and has since opened in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Noida, per ElecTree.

VinFast registered 2,963 cars in India in September, three times Tesla's 13-month total in a single month. The Vietnamese automaker assembles its SUVs at a plant in Tamil Nadu and prices them between about $19,000 and $24,000.

Tesla's data is based on registrations, not deliveries. The company doesn't report country-level sales.