Indians who prepaid $1,000 to order Tesla EVs ask for their money back as cars fail to arrive

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — In April 2016, Elon Musk invited Indians to preorder the upcoming Tesla Model 3. Vishal Gondal was one of the first to sign up, paying a $1,000 deposit for a car that never arrived.

The founder and CEO of a health-tech startup called GOQii in India’s financial capital Mumbai, Gondal wasn’t sure when the automaker would launch in India or how much the car would eventually cost. But the Elon Musk fan was excited about the Model 3 and willing to wait.

In the eight years since Tesla’s initial promise to sell cars in India, other automakers have launched their own EVs. But the American automaker has failed to follow through, apparently because of concerns that taxes would make the cars too expensive in India, combined with the difficulties of building an Indian factory if it decided to shift production away from China.

After six years without a Tesla or a clear explanation about the company’s plans for India, Gondal bought an electric SUV made by German automaker Audi. He got his $1,000 back in January 2023 with the help of a friend who helped him track down a Tesla sales manager in India.

India is the world’s third-largest auto market after China and the United States. But it’s unique. The average price of cars sold in India in 2023 was $14,000, compared with $47,000 in the United States. An American can buy a new Tesla 3 for about $40,000. That’s the price of a luxury car in India, and buyers would demand excellent after-sales service.

“I think Tesla may be a great tech company. But they just don’t know how to sell luxury cars,” Gondal said.

Since then, other automakers who have been selling luxury cars in India have also started selling EVs. Hemant Suthar, a Mumbai-based director of a design studio