At EXCON 2025, a Bengaluru startup rolled out a machine it calls India’s most powerful electric tractor. The BEAST 9696 E, from Bullwork Mobility — since rebranded as MultiplexEV — is the product of four years of ground-up engineering, with company-stated figures of 96 kW of power, a 96 kWh liquid-cooled LFP battery and 2,500 kg of lift capacity.
Read the headline claim carefully: “most powerful” is Bullwork’s marketing, echoed by trade outlets — not an independently verified title. What is harder to dismiss is the engineering intent. This is not a diesel tractor with its engine swapped out, but a platform designed electric from the start.
Why electric tractors matter for Indian agriculture
For Indian farmers and fleet operators, fuel is one of the heaviest recurring costs of mechanisation, and diesel price volatility makes budgeting difficult. An electric tractor shifts the equation from fuel to electricity — and where farms have solar or agricultural power tariffs, the advantage compounds. That is Bullwork’s opening: not just a cleaner tractor, but a cheaper one to run.
The company claims up to 80% lower operating costs versus diesel, or up to ₹3 lakh in annual savings for heavy users. Those are Bullwork’s numbers via trade outlets — no independent test data exists yet — but they set the benchmark the machine will be judged against.
The machine: what Bullwork actually built
Unveiled on Day 1 of EXCON 2025, the BEAST 9696 E comes from a startup founded in 2021 by Hemanth Kumar (CEO), Dr. Sriharsha Sheshanarayana (CTO) and Vinay Raghuram (COO), with $2 million in angel funding from Mahesh Shetty of the Multiplex Group, who joined as co-founder.
A caveat on the numbers: Bullwork’s own product page lists 96 kW, but some launch coverage described a 60 kW dual-motor configuration instead. The figures were reported inconsistently across outlets — one more reason to treat every spec as company-stated until independent testing.
Ground-up electric, not a diesel retrofit
Bullwork’s central engineering claim is that the BEAST was designed as an electric platform from a blank sheet, not converted from a diesel model. The distinction matters: a ground-up design lets engineers place the battery low for stability, size motors for the duty cycle, and integrate thermal management and power electronics as one system — things a retrofit can only approximate.
The platform is described as autonomous-ready: drive-by-wire, smart work modes, smart traction control, a 3-speed e-shifter, e-ADDC hydraulics and thermally managed systems — the building blocks for supervised autonomy in the field, even if full autonomy remains a future step.
96 kW of power. A 96 kWh liquid-cooled LFP battery. 2,500 kg of lift capacity. The company-stated figures behind Bullwork’s “most powerful” claim — independently untested, but ambitious by any measure.
The economics — and the fine print
The running-cost story is where electric tractors win or lose. Bullwork is swinging hard — up to 80% lower operating costs, ₹3 lakh yearly savings for heavy users, and roughly two-hour fast charging for long working days. As company claims, compelling; as verified facts, still pending. Real-world figures will hinge on duty cycle, charging infrastructure and tariffs — and no third-party running-cost study has been published yet.
A new name, and what comes next
Since the launch, Bullwork Mobility has rebranded as MultiplexEV, and its website now carries the new name. The specifications here reflect the company’s published figures around the EXCON unveiling; details may have evolved, so check the company’s current site before treating any figure as final. The rebrand reflects how fast India’s hardware-manufacturing landscape is moving — from startups like Bullwork to established giants like LMW, the textile-machinery maker now building rocket parts.
Read the BEAST 9696 E as a statement of intent: a ground-up Indian electric tractor platform with serious specifications on paper and bold cost claims attached. Whether it earns the “most powerful” title will be decided not at a trade-show unveiling, but in independent testing — and in farmers’ fields. Bullwork is part of a wider Make-in-India hardware push that includes Sagar Defence’s autonomous naval vessels, ordered by the Indian Navy.
Takeaway
Bullwork (now MultiplexEV) has built a genuinely ground-up electric tractor with ambitious company-stated specs — 96 kW, 96 kWh LFP, 2,500 kg lift — and is betting that up to 80% lower running costs will sell it. The “most powerful” crown, though, remains a marketing claim until independent tests say otherwise.
Sources & further reading
- CMV360: Bullwork unveils BEAST 9696 E at EXCON 2025 — launch coverage and specifications
- e-vehicleinfo: Bullwork launches most powerful electric tractor — spec and pricing roundup
- Digital Terminal: Bullwork Mobility unveils India’s most powerful electric tractor — deep-tech manufacturing context
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the BEAST 9696 E really India’s most powerful electric tractor?
That is Bullwork’s — now MultiplexEV’s — marketing claim, repeated by trade outlets. It is not an independently verified title. The stated specs are ambitious, but no independent test has confirmed them, and some outlets reported a different motor configuration. Treat it as a claim, not a fact.
How much cheaper is it to run than a diesel tractor?
The company claims up to 80% lower operating costs and up to ₹3 lakh in annual savings for heavy users. These are Bullwork’s figures; independent running-cost data has not been published.
Is it just a diesel tractor converted to electric?
According to the company, no. Bullwork says the BEAST was engineered from the ground up as an electric platform over four years, with drive-by-wire and autonomous-ready systems — not a diesel retrofit.
What happened to Bullwork Mobility?
It rebranded as MultiplexEV; the website now carries the new name. The tractor was launched as the Bullwork BEAST 9696 E at EXCON 2025.
