Tesla has announced that it will launch in Saudi Arabia next month in a sign of improved relations between the kingdom and the electric-vehicle maker’s chief executive Elon Musk.
The carmaker already trades in some Middle Eastern countries but will start selling in the kingdom for the first time on April 10 with a display in Riyadh of electric vehicles and products powered by solar energy.
Musk fell out with Saudi Arabia’s regime when the billionaire attempted to take the company private in 2018. Musk tweeted in 2018 he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private after meeting Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.
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The tweet led to a lawsuit from investors when a bid failed to materialise. Text messages later disclosed in court revealed tense relations between Musk and the PIF’s governor Yasir al-Rumayyan.
Musk accused al-Rumayyan of throwing him “under the bus”. In the 2018 exchange, he said: “You said you were definitely interested in taking Tesla private and had wanted to do so since 2016.”
In response, al-Rumayyan wrote that it “takes two to tango” and said the fund had not received required information from Tesla.
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A US jury found in 2023 that Musk was not liable for misleading investors when he tweeted funding was secured to take Tesla private.
The relationship with Saudi Arabia appears to have improved since Musk took a high-profile role in President Trump’s new administration.
Trump said this month that he is likely to make his first trip abroad to Saudi Arabia, after asking the kingdom in January to spend $1 trillion in the US economy over four years, including military equipment.
In a notice advertising the launch event in Riyadh, Tesla said: “Experience the future of autonomous driving with Cybercab, and meet Optimus, our humanoid robot, as we showcase what’s next in AI and robotics.”
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Invitations to the event asked guests to indicate which Tesla car model they were interested in buying.
The launch comes amid a decline in Tesla sales in Europe, amid a backlash over Musk’s politics. The brand has also been targeted by protesters in the United States over Musk’s spearheading of sweeping cuts to the federal government.
In Saudi Arabia, electric vehicle sales make up only 1 per cent of car sales, according to a 2024 report from PwC. Tesla will be competing in the Saudi market against Chinese giant BYD and the PIF-backed Lucid.
PIF has also invested $925 billion in a domestic EV brand called Ceer that is yet to launch.
