Tesla has begun selling its cars in Saudi Arabia, opening a branch in the hot desert country, Tesla has no charging stations along a 900-kilometer stretch of its main east-west highway, which connects the capital, Riyadh, to the holy city of Mecca.
Total electric vehicle sales in the Kingdom amounted to only 2,000 vehicles last year, a very small number compared to Tesla’s sales in other markets.
Media reports suggest that Tesla’s weak sales in Saudi Arabia are partly due to a dispute between its billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, and the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s powerful sovereign wealth fund, dating back to 2018.
Relations between Riyadh and Musk have improved since Donald Trump took office, and Tesla’s official opening of a branch in the Kingdom is evidence of a thaw in the crisis between Elon Musk and the Saudi government.
Tesla faces numerous challenges in the Kingdom, including a scarcity of charging stations and summer temperatures that exceed 50 degrees Celsius, which drain electric vehicle batteries more quickly.
Saudi Arabia had 101 electric vehicle charging stations in 2024, compared to 261 in the neighboring United Arab Emirates, a country with a third of the population.
Most of these stations are located in major cities, making long journeys across desert highways unfeasible, this is a significant problem that may discourage Saudi citizens from purchasing Tesla cars.
The opening of a Tesla branch in Saudi Arabia came late, as Chinese giant BYD opened a branch in Riyadh in May of last year, the Chinese company was significantly ahead of Tesla, which could cause Tesla to lose significant sales.
“I think charging is probably one of the biggest concerns, if not the biggest,” said Carlos Montenegro, BYD’s general manager in Saudi Arabia, adding that Saudi drivers drive significantly more kilometers per year than in other markets.
Montenegro added that about 70% of the cars BYD sells in Saudi Arabia are hybrids, not fully electric, according to Reuters.
Riyadh has massive development plans, including a goal of 30% electric vehicle adoption and increasing the number of charging points to 5,000 by 2030.
