Report - Tesla looking to enter India next year

13/03/2014 - 13:20 | ,   | Anjan Ravi

Elon Musk-founded Tesla Motors is looking to enter markets beyond the United States and Europe. The California based electric carmaker is eyeing Asian markets, especially India.

Tesla-Model-S
The Model S is a sports, luxury electric sedan.

Speaking to Economic Times, Tesla's chief financial officer, Deepak Ahuja, said that India has huge potential for the company, and that 2015 would be a right time to enter the country. Ahuja further said that Tesla's upcoming car, the Model X, would be an ideal fit for a country like India. This is probably because the Model X is an SUV, and the soft SUV segment in India is growing in double digits every year.

Tesla currently sells the Model S sports sedan in three variants: 60 kWh, 85 kWh and P85. The base model produces 302 hp, accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 5.9 seconds with a top-speed of 192 km/h and has a range of 330 km. The 85 kWh gets 362 hp, accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 5.4 seconds, achieves a top-speed of 200 km/h with a range of 420 km. The P85 churns out 416 hp which enables it to sprint from 0-100 km/h in 4.2 seconds with a top-speed and range of 208 km/h and 420 km.

Tesla Model X live image
The upcoming Tesla Model X is an all-electric SUV.

However, questions pertaining to India's infrastructure for electric mobility (which at the moment are non-existent) are still present. In the US, Tesla launched its Supercharger system, which is capable of charging a Model S's battery up to 50 percent in just 20 minutes. This, Tesla says, is about 16 times faster than any normal charging station.

[Source - Economic Times]

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