Cybertrucks in the desert: Tesla launches in Saudi Arabia

Tesla launched operations in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, a sign that the oil capital was moving forward with an ambitious electric-vehicle policy.

A Tesla Cybertruck and a redesigned Model Y sedan dominated a plaza dotted with palm trees, as the EV maker officially opened for business.

For more news on Saudi Arabia, visit our dedicated page.

A small crowd tried out the vehicles as a massive outdoor video screen showed a Cybertruck plowing through a dusky desert, leaving behind plumes of sand.

Tesla needs new customers: globally, it posted a 13 percent drop in first-quarter sales, its weakest performance in nearly three years, driven by a backlash against Musk’s role in the Trump administration, rising competition and an aging product lineup, beyond the refreshed Model Y.

The Kingdom, a major investor in Tesla rival Lucid, aims for 30 percent EV adoption five years from now, up from about one percent last year.

US President Donald Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks in his first foreign trip. Local Tesla executives at the launch described plans to allow online ordering of vehicles, open pop-up stores in malls and to build Supercharger stations and service centers, but Musk did not show up in person or by video.

“I’m honestly very disappointed I cannot see him,” said fan Mohammed Usama, who said he was “in love” with the Cybertruck. “I was very close to the stage, but unfortunately he didn’t come.”

Saudi has a long way to go to hit its EV goals.

The country’s main east-west highway does not have a single charging station in the 900-kilometer (559 mile) stretch linking the financial and religious cities of Riyadh and Mecca. Saudi Arabia in 2024 had just 101 EV charging stations, compared with 261 in neighboring United Arab Emirates, a country with a third the population, data from Statista based on Electromaps showed.

Tesla plans to put its first charging stations in three cities.

Rival EV brands like China’s BYD and Zeekr, along with the Saudi Public Investment Fund-backed Lucid, already have Saudi beachheads.

Read more: Tesla to recall over 46,000 Cybertrucks over exterior panel issue