Tesla hires ex-Lamborghini chief Sharad Agarwal to lead India operations

Before joining Tesla, Sharad Agarwal led Lamborghini India for nearly a decade, helping the brand dominate the country's super-luxury market

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Tesla Inc has appointed Sharad Agarwal, former head of Lamborghini India, as its new country head, Bloomberg reported. 

Agarwal, who joined the company this week, will head Tesla’s India operations. His appointment signals a change in the company’s management structure, which previously saw a small local team reporting to executives in China and other regional centres. 

The move aims to establish a stronger on-ground presence as Tesla seeks to revive interest in its electric vehicles in the world’s most populous market. Isabel Fan, Tesla’s Southeast Asia director, previously oversaw the launch of showrooms in Mumbai and New Delhi earlier this year. The company’s former India head, Prashanth Menon, had resigned in May after working between India and the US, Bloomberg reported.

 

Focusing on luxury buyers first

By hiring Agarwal, who has extensive experience in luxury car sales, Tesla appears to be focusing on India’s high-end vehicle segment rather than the mass market – at least for now. Agarwal’s key challenge will be to turn early consumer curiosity into meaningful sales while dealing with India’s high import tariffs and slow electric vehicle adoption. 

Before joining Tesla, Agarwal led Lamborghini India for nearly a decade, helping the brand dominate the country’s super-luxury market. He expanded Lamborghini’s reach to over 60 cities, with smaller markets accounting for nearly a quarter of its sales.

In November 2024, Agarwal took on the role of Chief Business Officer at Classic Legends, a Mahindra & Mahindra unit, according to his LinkedIn profile.   

 

Tesla faces an uphill battle in India

Tesla’s performance in India has so far fallen short of expectations. Since beginning sales in mid-July, the company received just over 600 orders, Bloomberg News reported in September. That number rose slightly to around 800 by October. 

The sluggish demand is partly due to steep import tariffs, which have pushed the starting price of Tesla’s Model Y to over ₹60 lakh ($67,575), far higher than the ₹22 lakh range where most electric vehicles in India are sold, according to JATO Dynamics. EVs currently account for just over 5 per cent of total car sales in the country. 

To boost visibility, Tesla is expanding its marketing efforts and setting up pop-up displays in busy malls across Delhi-NCR.

 

Tesla considers internal successor if Musk steps down

Amid its India push, Tesla is also preparing for possible leadership changes at the global level. The company may appoint an internal candidate as CEO if Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package is rejected and he steps down, Bloomberg reported. 

Robyn Denholm, Tesla’s chair, said an internal transition would be the “most likely” path to ensure stability, though external candidates have not been ruled out. The decision comes ahead of a crucial shareholder vote scheduled for November 6.   

 

Musk’s $1 trillion pay vote and threat to exit

The proposed compensation plan would grant Musk a 25 per cent stake in Tesla if he significantly boosts the company’s market value and meets performance goals in its car, robotics and robotaxi divisions. Musk has warned that if the package is rejected, he may shift focus to his other ventures, including SpaceX and xAI. 

“I’ve had the conversations with him directly,” Denholm said. “There’s no question in my mind that if we don’t get this across, there is a high probability [he will leave].” 

As the vote nears, Denholm and board members, including James Murdoch and Jack Hartung, are holding meetings with major shareholders like Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street to rally support.