A duo of camouflaged Tesla Model 3 electric cars was spotted testing in India as the automaker is rumored to soon be entering the market.
After years of talks about entering the Indian market, Tesla seems to be making some significant progress lately.
Earlier this year, Tesla officially incorporated an Indian company in Bengaluru, the capital of India’s southern Karnataka state.
This month, Indian government officials said that they are considering Tesla’s proposal to greatly reduce import duties for electric cars, which has been the main hurdle for the company to enter the market.
The
government has maintained high import duties on EVs to encourage local production, but it hasn’t been widely successful yet.
Tesla has expressed interest in building a factory in the country, but as it has done in every other market, the automaker prefers to first test the waters with imported vehicles.
While there’s no deal yet, Tesla seems to already be preparing to enter the market.
On top of creating an Indian business earlier this year, two camouflaged Tesla Model 3 vehicles were spotted being testing in the country (via wheelsofautomotive010 on Instagram):
Some commenters noted that the suspension looks higher than the regular Model 3.
It’s hard to tell without a regular Model 3 next to it, but it could make sense to take on Indian roads, which are known to be rough in some regions.
Interestingly, the vehicles feature a full prototype camouflage, which is something that Tesla has been avoiding, unlike the rest of the auto industry.
Recently, we even reported on Tesla laughing at the practice with its Model Y prototypes in Europe featuring a “prototype camouflage” consisting of a decal that reads “Not Model Y.”
Tesla fans have been laughing at the situation:
However, it’s not the first time that Tesla prototypes have been spotted with more traditional camouflage.
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