Tesla Opens Test Drives for Model Y RWD, Adds Grok AI Assistant in India

Tesla has opened test drives for the 2026 Model Y Premium Rear-Wheel Drive at its experience centres across India, alongside the rollout of Grok, an artificial intelligence assistant developed by Elon Musk's xAI, for its India customers.

The test drives are available at Tesla's outlets in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurugram. The Model Y Premium Rear-Wheel Drive is priced at ₹50,89,000 and can be ordered through Tesla's website, with a down payment of ₹6,00,000 and EMIs starting at ₹39,990 a month under a seven-year, 8.5 per cent financing plan. Buyers who order before 30 August will receive a complimentary Wall Connector.

The car offers 2,138 litres of storage with power-folding seats for five occupants, and Tesla says it accelerates from 0 to 100 kmph in 5.9 seconds with a WLTP-rated range of up to 500 km. The company has also said it is expanding home charging support across all states.

The bigger shift, though, is under the bonnet of the software. Grok arrives as a free over-the-air update on every Model Y in India, activated by voice command or a long press on the steering wheel's voice button. It supports regional languages including Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada — a feature aimed squarely at broadening the car's appeal beyond English-speaking metro buyers. Beyond conversation, Grok handles multi-stop trip planning, locates nearby charging points and services, and offers explanations when a dashboard alert appears, functions Tesla says reduce reliance on visits to a service centre.

The update also extends automatic navigation beyond fixed home and work routes to any destination based on a driver's habits, part of what Tesla describes as continuing software refinement rather than a one-off feature drop.

Tesla's India push comes as the carmaker reports record deliveries in markets including Japan, Australia, South Korea and several smaller European and Southeast Asian markets, supported by rising output of its 4680 battery cells. The company has also disclosed that it more than doubled onsite computing capacity at its Texas facility in the first half of 2026, work it says underpins autonomy software for both vehicles and its humanoid robotics programme.

For India, the timing is notable. Tesla entered the country only in 2025 after years of delay over import duties and local manufacturing commitments, and has since relied on imported vehicles sold at a premium compared with domestic electric models from Tata Motors, Mahindra and MG. Software differentiation, particularly a voice assistant tailored to Indian languages and road conditions, gives Tesla a point of distinction in a market where charging infrastructure and price sensitivity remain the bigger constraints on EV adoption.

Whether Grok's language support and trip-planning tools translate into sales will depend largely on how India's still-nascent charging network holds up outside the metro corridors where Tesla currently operates.