Tesla’s India Dream Collapses: CEO Abruptly Resigns, Elon Musk’s 7-Year Plan to Conquer Billion-Strong Market Fails—Shocking Setback for Electric Car Giant!

Currently, Tesla’s division in China will temporarily oversee operations in India in place of the CEO who has just resigned.

Tesla’s CEO in India, Prashanth Menon, has just submitted his resignation. The decision comes at a time when the American electric car company is preparing to establish an official presence in the South Asian country through its first retail stores.

It is known that Mr. Menon has worked at Tesla for nearly 9 years and has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tesla India for more than 4 years. During this time, he played a key role in laying the foundation for the airline’s plans to enter the Indian market. In 2021, he established a representative office in Pune and recently led efforts to lease space for the first showrooms.

According to the source, there is currently no successor and Tesla’s division in China will temporarily oversee operations in India. Mr. Menon declined to comment. His decision to leave is said to be for personal reasons.

Tesla, which entered the Indian market seven years ago, only allowed customers to order and promised to deliver the car later. The move at that time attracted a lot of attention. Within hours, several well-known business and technology leaders decided to place orders and post information on social media. Musk himself also promises a lot about the timing of entering the billion-person market.

When Tesla started allowing Indians to own its hugely popular electric cars, Vishal Gondal was one of the first to seize the opportunity. Just hours after the company opened pre-orders in April 2016, the young man immediately spent $1,000 (then 66,237 rupees) to “order” a new box car called Model 3. At the time, there was no final clear price in India, but Gondal, who had driven a Tesla in the U.S. before, was extremely excited.

Nearly seven years later, Gondal, the founder and CEO of medical technology startup GoQii, waited patiently for his Model 3. By 2023, when he still didn’t see any car, he decided to cancel the old order.

“No contact, no email. Even years later, the company still hasn’t issued any apology,” he told Rest of World. I won’t trust Musk anymore.”

Bhawani’s deposit was later refunded in February 2020 after his Tesla ‘unmasking’ video attracted attention.

“Ordinary people who cancel the application will not be refunded. Only those who are influential or own the green tick that day will be refunded,” he said.

According to Nikhil Chaudhary, until a few years ago, Tesla’s website still showed a cancel button when a potential buyer logged in. However, that option has been “removed” and replaced with an online community ID called Tesla Club India. The community regularly receives questions about how to cancel reservations, according to Chaudhary. Some even had to follow Tesla employees on Linkedin to be processed to cancel orders.

Currently, Tesla has not officially commented on specific plans in India. Supporters of the project said the investment will serve some of the country’s goals of domestic production, combating the climate crisis, integrating into supply chains and strengthening strategic partnerships. Some media outlets predict Tesla may soon make a final decision, including building a plant with a production capacity of up to 500,000 vehicles per year in the South Asian country, depending on global constraints and developments in other markets.

When Musk announced plans to visit India earlier this year, many predicted that the automaker would eventually start production. However, just two days before the trip, Musk decided to cancel.
Yugal Joshi, a partner at global research firm Everest Group, told Rest of World: “People who booked about eight years ago were not too worried about the $1,000, however, delays in investments as well as the decision to cancel a last-minute visit to India complicated the problem.”

According to The Guardian (UK), now, with the new influence in President Donald Trump’s administration and global geopolitics, it is possible that Elon Musk’s plan to enter the Indian market for both Tesla electric cars and Starlink satellite Internet will go more smoothly even though currently, Expensive import tariffs on electric vehicles in India are still a major obstacle.

After meeting with Prime Minister Modi last year, Elon Musk is very determined to enter the billion-person market. The company has started hiring in Mumbai and Delhi, and has signed leases to open its first showroom in Mumbai. The plan to open a Tesla factory in India will bring many benefits, especially job creation and attract foreign investment.

Besides Tesla, Elon Musk since 2021 has also aimed to expand Starlink services in India. Despite the current low demand, Deloitte forecasts that the satellite Internet market in India could reach $1.9 billion by 2030.

Speaking to reporters earlier this year, following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, India’s communications minister confirmed that Starlink is in the process of obtaining the necessary security permits to operate in India.

However, a significant challenge awaits, in the context that the telecommunications industry, including satellite Internet, is heavily regulated in India. The related security issues are raising many concerns, especially with the Indian government’s control of Internet access.