Former Indian captain Rohit Sharma has once again captured headlines off the field with his latest car purchase.
A video showing Sharma driving a Tesla Model Y at an award show in Mumbai has gone viral, drawing attention not only from fans but also from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The clip was first shared by X user Teslaconomics, who wrote, “This is why Tesla doesn’t need to advertise - Rohit Sharma (former captain of India’s national cricket team), who has 45M followers on Instagram, just bought a new Tesla Model Y.”
Musk himself reshared the post on his timeline.
Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s India-origin vice president, congratulated Sharma on joining the Tesla family.
“Welcome to the Tesla family Rohit!” Elluswamy wrote in response to one of the posts about Sharma’s purchase.
Reports confirm that Sharma has acquired the Tesla Model Y, an all-electric SUV with prices starting at Rs 59.89 lakh and rising up to nearly Rs 73.89 lakh for the top-end variant.
Fans were intrigued by the vehicle’s registration number, which ends with “3015,” reportedly a tribute to the birthdates of Sharma’s children, Samaira and Ahaan.
Samaira was born on December 30, 2018, while Ahaan was born last year on November 15.
Sharma is known for his love of cars and reportedly owns a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, BMW 7 Series, Audi Q7, and a Range Rover.
He was also frequently seen driving a blue Lamborghini with the registration number 264, which paid homage to his world-record ODI score.
Tesla has recently introduced more affordable variants of the Model Y and Model 3, named Model Y Standard and Model 3 Standard, aimed at reviving sales and broadening the customer base amid growing competition.
The new Standard variants are available only in the US.
The Model Y Standard features several design changes from the premium versions.
It no longer has the front light bars, comes with 18-inch wheels, and does not include the panoramic sunroof.
Additionally, the color options are limited to white, black, and grey, and the Long Range variants are now classified under the Premium label.
Rohit Sharma is set to return to international cricket in the upcoming ODI series against Australia starting October 19.