The opening of showrooms in the capital Riyadh, Jeddah and Damam comes as Tesla global sales fall.
“Today we are proud to officially launch in the kingdom,“ said Naseem Akbarzada, Tesla country manager for Saudi Arabia, hailing the start of a “long-term presence”.
Saudi Arabia is a key regional US ally and Trump forged close ties during his first term with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has promised to inject $600 billion into US trade and investments.
The world's largest oil exporter enjoys bargain-basement fuel prices with a litre of petrol costing just 2.33 riyals ($0.62).
Saudi economist Mohammed Al-Qahtani welcomed Tesla's move, but urged more efforts by Musk's firm.
A lack of charging infrastructure and the country's vast size mean that many Saudi drivers will view EVs as suitable for shorter trips, rather than as replacements for conventional vehicles.
According to data platform Statista, before Tesla's arrival Saudi Arabia had just 101 charging stations, compared with 261 in the much smaller neighbouring United Arab Emirates.
Authorities are seeking to diversify the economy, which relies heavily on oil, aiming to install 5,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030.
It has also secured a deal with South Korea's Hyundai to establish a plant in the kingdom for electric and petrol-powered cars.
A vehicle from Lucid, which opened a factory in Jeddah in 2023 after a billion-dollar Saudi investment, costs $92,000.
Last May, Chinese company BYD opened a showroom in Riyadh, selling more affordable electric cars.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Tesla opens first showroom in oil-rich Saudi )
Also on site :