EVs accounted for just 1% of all car sales in the kingdom in 2024, according to PwC. Saudi Arabia is developing its own local EV manufacturing and has a majority stake in California-based EV maker Lucid Motors. Tesla’s launch in Saudi Arabia takes place as the carmaker faces plummeting sales amid backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s controversial role in the Trump administration. Tesla Cybertruck Courtesy: Tesla
Tesla, Inc. is debuting sales in Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich kingdom whose long desert highways are home to gas-guzzling SUVs — and where there are no chargers to be found for hundreds of miles.
The American electric vehicle maker is hoping that success in neighboring countries like the United Arab Emirates and a small but growing pool of buyers of electric vehicles (EV) in the region are a positive sign of future demand.
The timing is also notable — Tesla will hold its launch event in Riyadh on April 10, then open pop-up stores in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam on the April 11. That is ahead of a widely anticipated