India's First Tesla Model Y To Get An Elaborate 'Ayudha Puja': This Is IT!
Tesla made its long-awaited entry into India in July this year, and the Model Y is now the only car that it sells here. Ever since deliveries kicked off, social media has been buzzing with posts of proud new owners showing off their Teslas. In the most recent instance, a set of images shared on X (previously Twitter) shows what could possibly be India’s first Model Y to get an elaborate ‘Vahan Puja’ (or Ayudha Puja) this festive season.
These images are from Hyderabad, posted online by Dr Praveen Koduru, a laparoscopic surgeon. He took delivery of his brand-new Model Y finished in Ultra Red on 28th September. It was, in fact, the first Model Y to reach Hyderabad.
It is the same vehicle that can be seen in these images. The EV is seen parked near the entrance of a temple. A large garland can be seen on the hood. In the Indian culture, it is common to put garlands on vehicles during Vahan Puja.
The doctor wrote in the caption “No car , including Tesla, can get a five-star safety rating in Indian culture, unless a vahan Pooja is done”. Due to its uncommon nature, this post has been getting a lot of traction online. You would find a lot of interesting comments on this post.
“For a moment I thought it’s a Verna then I read the tweet.” wrote a user, taking a dig at the obvious visual similarity between the two. ‘Even Tesla is not safe without nimbu or mirchi’ said another.
‘Pooja enables FSD?’ asked a user sarcastically while another comment reads ‘Why was Tesla disrespected?’. It is obvious that not everyone in the comments section approves of the EV being put to religious customs and rituals. It, however, needs to be said that beliefs and rituals like these are the discretion of the vehicle owner and there’s little room for criticism there.
Soon after taking the delivery, Koduru embarked on his very first road trip with Tesla. He drove it from the showroom in Mumbai BKC to Hyderabad, covering a total distance of 773.9km. He might have been the first person in India to cover this route with the Model Y. He took three charging stops, although just two were actually needed.
The Model Y has an ex-showroom starting price of Rs 58.89 lakh in India. It is offered in two distinct versions- the standard Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) and the Long Range RWD. The latter has an ex-showroom starting price of Rs 67.89 lakh. The All Wheel Drive (AWD) version isn’t available yet. Speccing the car with features like the Full Self Driving (FSD) suite and even opting for colours other than the Stealth Grey will cost additional sums.
The entry-level RWD variant comes with an electric motor that can produce 299 PS and 420 Nm. It is mated to a 60.5 kWh battery pack. The claimed range here is around 500 km per charge, and the 0-100 kph time is 5.9 seconds. It even has a top speed of 201 kph.
The Long range version has a bigger 75 kWh battery pack paired with a 340PS electric motor. The setup has a claimed range of 622 km per charge. 0-100 kph comes in just 5.6 seconds- slightly faster than the standard variant.
On the design front, the Model Y has a strong focus on aerodynamics. Plus, it comes with slim LED headlamps, connected LED tail lamps, 19-inch Crossflow wheels, and a coupe-like silhouette. The standard colour scheme inside is all-Black. The EV offers features like a large 15.4-inch touchscreen, an 8-inch driver display, a panoramic glass roof, wireless charging, premium audio, etc.