Tesla Model Y in India Won’t Run Local Apps or Support Indian Language Voice Commands at Launch

Tesla has finally kicked off pre-bookings for the Model Y in India, with much fanfare around its delayed launch. Billed as a computer on wheels, the 2025 “Juniper” refresh of the Model Y was the world’s best-selling car last year. Priced starting at ₹59.89 lakh in India, it’s packed with tech including a huge 15.4-inch central infotainment screen, another 8-inch touchscreen for rear seat passengers, and hardware for autonomous driving. However, customers here might find it lacking in a few ways – at least at launch time.

Tesla cars run the company’s own operating system, navigation, and infotainment software, and there is no app store. That means you can’t download and install commonly available Android apps, like you can on many other vehicles currently on the market. Tesla also famously does not support Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto interfaces for smartphone integration.

That means you can use only the apps that Tesla offers, and for now, that list doesn’t include any Indian options. For music and audio content on the go, you can have Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Audible, Tidal, and a few podcast options. However, you’ll be out of luck if you prefer using Gaana, JioSaavn, or others for Hindi and local language content.

A Tesla representative at the Mumbai launch event also confirmed to ACKO Drive that Indian languages are not supported for voice commands at this time. When asked about Grok, the AI assistant developed by Tesla’s sister company xAI which has just been rolled out to Tesla cars in the US, the representative confirmed that this is also not supported here yet.

To get around this, some apps and services allow content streaming via Tesla's Web browser. It should also be noted that Tesla cars do receive periodic over-the-air software updates, so new apps and capabilities can be added and expanded over time. The company offers Full Self Driving for purchase even though it can’t be used here yet, which means India-specific updates will have to be rolled out in the future to enable it when regulations allow.