As part of Tesla’s underlying goal to expand well beyond the United States, Europe and China, Elon Musk this week announced that Tesla is planning to invest “tens of millions of dollars” in order to further develop charging and service infrastructures in Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates.
On Monday, Elon Musk proudly announced that Tesla officially entered the UAE market and that consumers can already place orders for the Model S and the company’s Model X crossover vehicle. Deliveries in the region are expected to commence later this summer.
Additionally, Tesla will kick things off with a pop-up store in Dubai soon to be followed by a full-fledged store in Abu Dhabi sometime in 2018. Also on the horizon are plans to introduce 50 new supercharger stations across the country.
Meanwhile, the UAE is also doing its part to embrace the EV revolution. In conjunction with Tesla making its first inroads into the Middle East, the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority announced a new program wherein the Dubai Taxi Corporation will add 200 Model S and Model X vehicles to their fleet of taxis and limousines. Per Electrek, the vehicles will reportedly come packed with Tesla’s full suite of self-driving software.
Speaking on the matter, Mattar Al Tayer — an executive from Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) — explained that the purchase will help “transform Dubai into the world’s smartest city.” Al Tayer also said that the RTA is aiming to hasten the transition from fossil fuels to EVs. In turn, the RTA is hoping that autonomous cars will account for 25% of all trips in the city by 2030.
