Tesla Enters Dubai (As We Scooped Last Month), Dubai’s Road & Transport Authority Agrees To Purchase 200 Vehicles For Use As Taxis (Wow!)

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In January, one month ahead of time, we got the scoop on Tesla entering the UAE this month. We also heard that the vice ruler of Dubai has a Tesla Supercharger at his home to charge up his Model S. However, with the official announcement about Tesla’s entry into the UAE, we get even more eye-popping news.

Following the company’s official entrance into the Dubai market, the Dubai Road & Transport Authority announced that it would be purchasing 200 of Tesla’s Model S sedans and Model X SUVs for use by the Dubai Taxi Corporation — the official taxi service operator in the emirate.

The new purchase agreement was signed “on the sidelines of a summit in Dubai,” with Tesla’s Elon Musk and the Road & Transport Authority’s Chairman Mattar Al Tayer being the main (public anyways) forces behind the move.

Reuters provides more:

“California-based Tesla is accepting online orders from customers in the United Arab Emirates, a pop-up store in the Dubai Mall and a Tesla service center being built on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, which is due to open in July.”

“Founder Elon Musk said on Monday that Tesla will open a store and service center in Abu Dhabi in 2018 and plans to expand to Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia.”

“Musk declined to elaborate on his wider plans or timeline for expansion outside the UAE at a press conference in Dubai.”

Pricing in the region starts at 275,000 dirhams (~$75,000) for the Model S, and 344,000 dirhams for the Model X. So, not very different from the company’s pricing anywhere else. Presumably, the only differences from the US are due to shipping and import taxes/fees.

Deliveries to the region are expected to begin by July.

Related:

Interviewing the CEO of Masdar, the UAE’s $15 Billion Clean Energy Company (CleanTechnica Exclusive)

Vice Ruler Of Dubai Has Tesla Supercharger (& Model S) — Nothing To See Here, Move Along Now … (CleanTechnica Exclusive)

Tesla Opening In UAE Next Month (CleanTechnica Exclusive)

UAE Commits $50 Million To Fund Caribbean Renewable Energy

Saudi Arabia: Fossil Fuels Are Cleaner … Wait, What? (Exclusive Video)

Construction On World’s Largest Solar Project To Begin Soon

Hyperloop One + Dubai Roads & Transport Authority Sign

The Totally Insane Carbon Bubble

Lowest-Ever Solar Price Bid (2.42¢/kWh) Dropped In Abu Dhabi

Masdar Consortium Granted Dubai’s 800 MW, 3¢/kWh Solar Power Contract

Photos via Zach Shahan


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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