The first store will open near the Dubai Mall metro station and plans are afoot to launch destination chargers and superchargers across the UAE.
To many, Elon Musk’s position on The Donald reeks of sycophancy. To others, it’s a pragmatic approach of a businessman who knows only too well that he needs political goodwill to back his mega projects. Regardless on which side of the debate on Musk’s political leanings you dig your heels into, both camps will agree that Musk is perhaps one of the greatest tech visionaries of the century, second only to Steve Jobs.
His whitepaper on supersonic travel, the Hyperloop, has seen several competing firms vie to build the world’s first working concept – some of them right here in the UAE. His plans to enter space tourism has also seen a fair amount of success, and his claim-to-fame of affordable, practical and most importantly desirable electric cars has been met with incredible success too.
Now, he’s bringing Tesla to the UAE. Elon Musk, currently in Dubai for the World Government Summit will later tonight announce the brand’s formal entry into the UAE. Their first store will be located on Sheikh Zayed Road next to the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall metro station. Tesla will install a number of superchargers and destination chargers across the region. It confirmed yesterday that 26 destination chargers will soon be found in hotels and malls across the UAE, with provisions for another 50 more by the end of this year. There will be a supercharger built at The Last Exit in Jebel Ali and another in Masdar City too where Tesla owners will be able to recharge their car’s batteries in minutes, rather than hours. Five more superchargers will be set up in the UAE before then end of 2017 to facilitate long-distance driving. In the near future, Tesla also plans to open a store and service centre in Abu Dhabi.
The company has begun taking orders for the Tesla Model S sedan and the Tesla Model X SUV that will be sold at prices starting from AED275,000 and AED344,000 respectively with deliveries expected to begin this summer. There is a pop-up store opened at the Dubai Mall, apart from a Tesla Ranger service and service centre at Interchange II on Sheikh Zayed Road that will be opened in July to coincide with the first few deliveries.
Tesla has also indicated that post its launch here in the UAE, it will also look to set up operations in neighbouring countries including Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Tesla’s future in the region looks nothing short of electrifying.