Influencer Explains Why You Should Buy 12 Maruti WagonRs Over A Tesla Model Y
Elon Musk-owned Tesla made its long-awaited entry into the Indian market in July this year. The Model Y was the first model to go on sale here. As it is brought as a CBU import, the EV has a starting ex-showroom price of Rs 59,89 lakh. The on-road cost could reach Rs 74 lakh in many cities. An influencer recently took to X (previously Twitter) explaining why it makes more sense to buy 12 Maruti Wagon-Rs than taking a brand-new Tesla home.
Nalini Unagar is a content creator and influencer with over 27,000 followers on Instagram and 93K on X. Today, we come across many successful YouTubers. However, not everyone who starts a YouTube channel would rise to fame and scale success. Many quit or end up burning money.
But have you seen someone rise to fame for failing on YouTube and quitting? Nalini burnt Rs 8 lakh, trying to scale her cooking channel. She failed and finally quit the platform. After this, people started talking about her, and her social following increased steadily.
Now, Unagar creates hooking content around diverse topics. Most of her posts on X manage to gather good engagement. The Wagon-R vs Tesla post was shared on October 8, 2025, and has had over 2.4 million views so far. In it, Unagar explains how buying 12 Maruti Wagon-Rs instead of a Tesla Model Y will make one earn the EV’s price in just 1.5 years!
She starts by quoting the on-road price of the Model Y- Rs 74 lakh. With this money, you can buy 12 Wagon-Rs. (The Wagon-R Tour (taxi version) has an ex-showroom price of Rs 4.99 lakh, for the Petrol version and Rs 5.89 lakh for the CNG version. Here, the influencer seems to be considering the petrol version, which has an on-road price of Rs 5.44 lakh in New Delhi.)
Unagar advises to join Uber with the 12 new Wagon-Rs. In most cases, the average daily income will be Rs 3,500. Six working days a week will take the monthly income to Rs 91,000. The average driver's salary will be Rs 15,000 per month. Fuel bills per month could amount to approximately Rs 20,000. Uber will take around Rs 22,000 as commission.
All these considered, the net profit on a single car will be around Rs 34,000. So the combined pool of 12 cars will bring Rs 4.08 lakh per month. Over 1.5 years (18 months), the profit will touch Rs 73.44 lakh, almost the on-road price of a brand-new Tesla Model Y! So, in this case, you own 12 cabs that bring a steady income every month and enough money to buy a brand-new Model Y, should you wish to.
While this example may seem lucrative, it also needs to be said that certain areas of it are loosely defined. Implementing this the way it is portrayed here would thus be difficult. The math here doesn’t mention the moving variables associated with the cab business.
One good example is the car’s periodic maintenance and repair costs. Being a Maruti, the Wagon-R Tour won’t be expensive to fix. But with those prices taken into account, the ‘74 lakh in 1.5 year’ logic may get unsettled.
In many metros, it is common for these vehicles to get involved in accidents and minor incidents. These often cause scratches or dents on the vehicles, which will have to be fixed periodically. These expenses aren’t mentioned in the above math.
Next is the ‘human’ element. Having 12 cars out on the roads isn’t small. You will have to find 12 different drivers who would fit into your budget and manage and monitor them continuously. Additional staff maybe needed for ensuring smooth functioning of the system. Let’s admit it- not everyone would be equally good at managing people.
All these considered, the net income is unlikely to remain the same (and steady) every month. You will still be able to make Rs 74 lakh with this business, but over a longer span of time.