Market introduction

Pathbreaking electric automotive company Tesla officially began operations in India at the beginning of 2021 by setting up a corporate office in Mumbai, setting up an R&D centre in Bengaluru, and is also planning to set up a production facility in Karnataka soon. We expect the company to follow the top-down approach it has used in its own journey in the USA to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles in India too - which means the first product from the company to be launched will be its flagship Model S sedan. Expected to be brought to India via the CBU-route in the nascent stages, Indian customers should get the latest and the greatest version of the electric sedan.

Exterior

The Model S is a long, low-slung four-door sedan with a curvy design, including a coupe-like roof inspired by the Mercedes-Benz CLS Coupe. It had lost its conventional looking ‘grille’ in 2016 and now features a slim decorative piece there instead. For 2021, the headlights have become sleeker and ditch projectors for full-LEDs, the bumper gets more design elements, the side panels get new bodylines, all chrome bits are now matte black, and the rear haunches are slightly more pronounced (so much so that the rear-facing assisted driving-enabling cameras on the front fenders have had to be repositioned for an uninterrupted view).

Interior

Inside, the Model S has received a huge update for 2021. A yoke steering replaces the traditional round steering wheel of its predecessor - it remains to be seen how easy it will be to manoeuvre using this setup at low speeds. The large vertical centre screen has been ditched for a conventional 17-inch horizontal unit, this is tiltable from side to side for a better viewing angle. The air vents are now hidden for a cleaner dashboard design. A new eight-inch screen has been added for the rear passengers also, this sits at the back of the front centre console. Other features include new device charging options, a 22-speaker surround-sound system with noise cancellation, and an improved ‘Auto Pilot’ autonomous driving system.

Variants

The Model S is currently being offered in three variants - the dual-motor Long Range and the tri-motor Plaid and Plaid+. All versions have AWD as standard and the rear-wheel-drive only variants have been discontinued. Depending on the variant chosen, the Model S has a claimed single-charge range starting from 628km to 837km. The Model S is a quick and fast sedan too, with 0-97kmph achieved in as low as 1.99 seconds.

Seating capacity

It can seat five persons.

Expected price and competition

The pathbreaking electric drivetrain, space (five seats + boot and ‘frunk’), and autonomous driving features make the Model S a very expensive luxury car. In the USA, the Model S costs from Rs 58.36 lakh to Rs 1.09 crore before taxes and incentives. Details of which variants and features of the Model S will be offered in India are currently unknown.

Model SVariants

Model S Variants