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Tesla, Lucid ‘race’ begins in Saudi Arabia April 10

Elon Musk owned EV car major Tesla is all set for a mega launch on April 10, 2025 in Saudi Arabia, the market heavily dominated by Lucid Motors.

Thursday March 27, 2025 3:02 PM, Zohair M Safwan Faizee

Riyadh: Elon Musk owned EV car major Tesla is all set for a mega launch on April 10, 2025 in Saudi Arabia where the market is heavily dominated by Lucid Motors.

In a statement, Tesla said it is launching all its EV models in the Kingdom on April 10 with stores and outlets in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam operating from the next day.

"Experience the future of autonomous driving with Cybercab, and meet Optimus, our humanoid robot, as we showcase what's next in AI and robotics," it added.

On April 11, it will open up pop-up stores in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, Tesla said in a later statement, adding it would announce further details of its plans for Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks, with investment planned for 2025 and beyond, Reuters reported.

Tesla to see direct challenge from Lucid

Analysts are of the view that Elon Musk is moving to Saudi Arabia amidst the backlash and boycott calls in the United States and plummeting sales in Europe.

However, road ahead for Tesla in Saudi Arabia will not be a cakewalk as the Saudi auto market is dominated by Lucid EVs.

Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, controls 64.3% of Lucid Motors.

Tesla is already on sale in other Arab states including UAE and Qatar. However, Tesla launch in the Kingdom – the largest auto market in the Gulf, was delayed due to rift between Musk and the Kingdom.

A month after the feud with Musk went public, the PIF announced a $1 billion-plus investment in Lucid, becoming the majority investor in one of the EV startups looking to challenge Tesla, Reuters reported.

The tension however eased after Trump won the 2020 U.S. elections and Elon Musk became key aide and advisor of the White House. And, the Tesla launch in Saudi Arabia is finally coming in April 2025.

Besides Lucid EVs, Tesla is Saudi Arabia will also face challenge from Chinese giant BYD 1211.HK even as the EV adoption is slow in the Kingdom.

[Zohair M Safwan Faizee in a writer at ummid.com.]

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