Mumbai Sep 5 (UNI) Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik today became the first person to own a Tesla, an American electric vehicle, in India.
Talking to the media, Sarnaik said, "It is not a big deal to buy a car. But I have bought this car to give a message as transport minister that people should use electric vehicles. In the next 10 years, there should be a maximum number of electric vehicles in Maharashtra. This is the dream of our government."
He further said that he plans to gift the car to his grandson as a symbolic act to encourage "early awareness" of environmentally friendly transportation.
Tesla cars are available in India, with the Tesla Model Y starting at ₹59.89 lakh (ex-showroom) and the Long Range variant at ₹67.89 lakh. Other models like the Tesla Model 3 and Model S are also in the Indian market, with prices ranging from approximately ₹70.00 Lakh to ₹1.00 Crore for the Model S and ₹70.00 Lakh to ₹90.00 Lakh for the Model 3.