Tesla officially launched its electric cars sales in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, despite the presence of major challenges, most notably the scarcity of charging stations on long roads. Between the capital, Riyadh and Makkah Al -Mukarramah, and over 900 km, there is no single shipping station.
Simple sales of electric cars
Selling electric cars in Saudi Arabia last year amounted to only 2000 cars, less than Tesla sells in one day. Despite these numbers, the Kingdom plans to expand the electric car market within the “Vision 2030”.
New relationships after old disputes
Tesla had previously suffered from disputes with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which started since 2018 when Musk claimed that he had Saudi financing to buy Tesla and transfer it to a private company. But the relationships recently improved, especially with the rise of Musk in the Trump election campaign and his assumption of influential positions in his administration.
A prospective visit to Trump .. and strategic move to Tasla
Tesla’s entry into the Saudi market comes at a time when Riyadh is preparing to receive former US President Donald Trump on an official visit, which may enhance Tesla opportunities to gain local political and economic support.
Chinese competition and suffocating summer heat
Despite its delay, Tesla is joining its competitors such as “BYD”, which has opened its exhibition in Riyadh since May 2024. Tesla faces additional challenges such as high temperatures that may affect the age of batteries, in addition to the small number of shipping stations compared to the UAE.
A Saudi electrical expansion plan
Saudi Arabia aims to be 30% of cars in Riyadh electric by 2030. The “Electric Cars Infrastructure” company was established to raise the number of shipping stations from 101 currently to 5,000 by that year.
