Tesla enters India: Elon Musk's auto giant leases premium Mumbai showroom, ramps up hiring

Elon Musk-led Tesla has signed a lease agreement for its maiden outlet in India as the world’s largest automaker by market capitalisation looks to enter the Indian market after several flip-flops in the past.

The electric vehicle maker is renting a 4,003-square-feet showroom in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) business hub for five years.

Tesla’s India unit will pay a rent of over ₹35.26 lakh per month for the space, as per CRE Matrix, a real estate data analytics firm. The company has provided an initial security deposit of ₹2.11 crore. The rent will increase by 5% each year, reaching ₹42.86 lakh in the last year of the lease. Furthermore, the agreement includes a 36-month lock-in period for Tesla, ensuring stability over the long term, while the landlord is prohibited from ending the lease during this period.

The agreement, registered last week, stipulates that the lease will commence on February 16, with a rent-free period extending until March 31. The agreement was signed between Tesla and Maker Group entity to lease space on the ground floor of the 2 North Avenue commercial complex at Maker Maxity, according to CRE Matrix. The deal, priced at ₹881 per square feet, breaks the previous record set by Apple Inc., which rented space at ₹738 per square feet in January.

This lease agreement represents a key milestone for the electric vehicle (EV) giant as it aims to capitalise on the growing demand for premium electric cars in India.

Tesla is currently hiring for at least 20 positions in India, including for a store manager role in Mumbai and for several other roles in Pune. On LinkedIn, Tesla has posted jobs such as consumer engagement manager, order operations specialist, customer support specialist, service manager, sales adviser, business operations analyst, service technician, charging developer, software engineer, application product engineer and parts adviser among others.

While Tesla is expected to sell imported EVs in India, the carmaker’s India manufacturing plans have not been finalised. In February, U.S. president Donald Trump said Musk's plans to bring Tesla to India would be 'unfair' to the United States. “If he (Musk) built the factory in India, that’s okay, but that’s unfair to us.  It’s very unfair,” Trump said on 'The Sean Hannity Show'. “Every country in the world takes advantage of us, and they do it with tariffs... It’s impossible for him (Musk) to sell a car, practically, in, as an example, India,” he said. Musk, who was also on the show, agreed with Trump and said India imposes a 100% import duty on cars.