The Porsche Taycan is already proving to be a smash hit. Despite the range-topping Turbo model starting at $150,000, Porsche has already received 30,000 pre-orders for the Taycan in Europe alone, which far exceeds the company's expectations.

Next year, Porsche also plans to target a market where it will have no competition from Tesla: India. Local duties in India make imported luxury cars about 2.5 times more expensive than what they cost in Europe, which is why Elon Musk has ignored the Indian market so far. But Porsche India Director Pavan Shetty believes the Taycan will be a huge hit for the country's well-to-do customers when it goes on sale next year.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Shetty is confident the Taycan "will open up a completely new segment of customers, who are not only sport-car owners, but people who are sport-car owners and also want to be clean and environmentally friendly. We all want to be responsible, but it's more prevalent in the rich because they have an option and the resources."

Auto sales in India have consistently fallen for 13 consecutive months. Porsche sells 350-450 cars a year in India and aims to increase those figures with new Cayenne Coupe and Taycan. Challenging government regulations have prevented Musk from exploring the Indian market, forcing Tesla to wait for a temporary reduction of import penalties and other restrictions before building a local plant.

Musk has said he would "love to be" in India this year or next, but no plans have been announced yet. "That is Elon Musk's problem," Shetty said. "We are not a blind volume chaser. You can't change the laws of the land. The question is do you want to do business or do you not want to do business. I want to do business."

"I strongly believe that luxury adopts technology much faster than general automobiles," Shetty added. "We're entering a phase where the rich are necessarily global citizens. If you own a Porsche, you don't need an introduction. You're already someone, it becomes your identity."