Tesla to launch in Saudi Arabia next month

• Cybertruck, Cybercab and robot on show
• Company under pressure from rivals
• EVs only 1% of sales in kingdom

Tesla is due to launch in Saudi Arabia on April 10, with a special event at the Bujairi Terrace in Riyadh to show off its products, including its autonomous driving Cybercab and Optimus, its humanoid robot.  

Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company is currently facing slowing sales and rising competition from cheaper Chinese rivals in key global markets.

The US carmaker confirmed the move to Riyadh on its website, saying it will showcase the Cybercab, Cybertruck, Optimus, energy products and autonomous driving technology. 

AGBI exclusively reported in January that Tesla planned to enter the Saudi market in the first quarter.

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The entry into Saudi Arabia, where the appetite for luxury vehicles is among the highest per capita globally, comes at a critical time. 

Tesla posted its first annual delivery decline in a decade in 2024, with global sales slipping 1 percent. 

While its shares have rebounded from recent lows, helped by advances in its “Full Self-Driving” software and a refreshed Model Y launch in China, its shares remain more than 40 percent below their December peak and analysts have reined in expectations for the year.

By contrast, the Chinese EV giant BYD reported $107 billion in revenue last year, around $10 billion more than Tesla. Its Hong Kong-listed shares have risen by more than 50 percent this year. 

BYD, which plans to launch two high-end models in Dubai in 2025, is expanding rapidly across the Gulf and raised $5.6 billion in a recent share sale backed by the UAE’s Al-Futtaim Family Office.

The UAE’s EV market experienced significant growth last year, rising more than 260 percent and reaching 6 percent of total vehicle sales, according to the automotive data provider Focus2Move.

While Tesla does not release official sales figures for the UAE, Focus2Move  estimates that the company sold approximately 6,500 vehicles in 2024, capturing 43 percent of the local EV market. 

Saudi Arabia may offer a similar upside and Tesla’s launch could reshape a market characterised by some of the world’s cheapest fuel prices.

EVs made up just over 1 percent of sales in the kingdom in 2023, but PwC says more than 40 percent of consumers are considering an EV purchase within three years. 

The government wants 30 percent of vehicles in Riyadh to be electric by 2030, though infrastructure remains sparse.

Tesla first entered the Gulf in 2017 with a showroom in Dubai and now operates in Qatar, Jordan and Israel.