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‘Model 2’ Expected to be One of First Tesla EVs Sold in India

A mass market EV known as the ‘Model 2’ is tipped to be one of the first Teslas that will go on sale in coming years; meanwhile the carmaker won a court base in China over a supposed brake failure


Tesla's output of cars produced at its factory in Shanghai has tripled, according to the local car association.
A truck transports new Tesla cars from its factory in Shanghai. Output has surged since the factory was expanded. Photo: Reuters.

 

Analysts say the Tesla car most likely to be sold – and probably built in India, should company founder and CEO Elon Musk go ahead with his much-speculated move to set up a factory on the subcontinent – is the mass market electric vehicle currently known as “Model 2”.

Musk has been planning an affordable mass market EV for both Europe and India priced at about 25,000 euros or Rs 25 lakh+.

The Model 2 is expected to be launched in Germany in coming years, and may very well have a new name by that stage, but India is likely to see a SUV version of the two-door car after that, a report by MoneyControl said on Friday, citing sources.

The other Tesla likely to be sold in India is the Model Y, analysts have said. The Model Y has been produced from Tesla’s factory in California since 2020 and was the world’s best selling car in the first two quarters of this year.

 

ALSO SEE: Ford Scales Back Under-Fire CATL Tech-Backed US Battery Plant

 

Chinese protester apologises to Tesla

Meanwhile, in other news about the carmaker, Tesla has reportedly won a public apology from a car owner who tormented the company with protests at stores and other venues in 2021 over a supposed “brake failure”.

Ms Zhang made repeated claims that a brake failure led to an accident involving another owner named ‘Ms Li’.

The case drew a lot of attention when Ms Zhang was arrested after staging a protest at the Shanghai Motor Show.

Tesla’s response to the incident did not go down well with Chinese media, but the company now appears to have had the last laugh.

The carmaker’s data logs allegedly showed the driver was at fault and an inspection of the EV’s brakes found no problems, according to a report by Electrek on Thursday.

“Now the Weiyang District People’s Court in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province ruled that the owner was at fault and she needs to remove her social media posts claiming brake failure, write a public apology to Tesla, and pay 2,000 yuan ($280) to cover legal costs, as well as 20,000 yuan to cover the cost of the inspection,” it said.

 

  • Jim Pollard

 

ALSO SEE:

 

Chinese EV-Makers Braced For Wave of Consolidation – FT

 

Tesla Seen Looking at Battery Factory in India, as Well as EVs

 

Tesla Sues China Chip Designer for ‘Stealing Tech Secrets’

 

Tesla to See Record Quarter for China Sales, But Market Share Cut

 

Tesla Customers Protest in China Over Price Cuts – CarNews

 

Tesla does U-turn as China criticism mounts after owner protest

 

Consumer complaints mount for Tesla as Musk rejects ‘spying’ fears

 

India tells Tesla: We’ll give you the lowest production costs

 

 

Jim Pollard

Jim Pollard is an Australian journalist based in Thailand since 1999. He worked for News Ltd papers in Sydney, Perth, London and Melbourne before travelling through SE Asia in the late 90s. He was a senior editor at The Nation for 17+ years.

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