Tesla brings green commute to UAE
DUBAI // Green travel hit the UAE running yesterday as US electric car maker Tesla opened for business in Dubai, with plans to open a shop and service centre in Abu Dhabi next year.
Chief executive Elon Musk said at the World Government Summit that the company planned to invest millions in the UAE on infrastructure including recharging stations.
“We expect to invest tens of millions of dollars in the UAE for charging, service and support infrastructure,” Mr Musk said. “By next year, you’ll be able to travel anywhere in the GCC with an electric vehicle.”
He said that shifting car buyers from petrol to electric would be Tesla’s biggest challenge.
Orders have started for Tesla’s Model S sedan and Model X SUV, which are expected to be delivered this summer. Prices start from Dh275,000 for the Model S and Dh344,000 for the X.
The launch includes a popup shop in Dubai Mall, a Tesla Ranger support centre and a service centre being built near Interchange 2 of Sheikh Zayed Road, due to open in July.
Two Supercharger stations have been set up at the Last Exit in Jebel Ali and Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, with five more planned before the end of the year. There are also 26 Tesla chargers operating around the country, including at hotels and malls, with another 50 to be added before next year.
Tesla is planning to double charging sites by the end of the year and extend into Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Mr Musk said that entering a region where petrol is so cheap would not be problematic.
“Petrol is low priced but my understanding is that in the last year or two the price has risen quite a bit,” Mr Musk said. “To fill up a premium sedan might cost something in the order of US$25 [Dh92] to $30, but that same amount of electricity here would only cost $10.
“Also, the reliability of an electric car is better than a gasoline car because there are fewer moving parts that require service.
“There are no oil changes, you never need to change the brake pads because there’s regenerative braking, and there’s no tuneup needed. So there’s a lower cost of operation in general.” Mr Musk said the company had addressed other factors, including the UAE’s extreme weather conditions.
“We do hot-weather testing in Death Valley in California, literally the hottest place on Earth,” he said. “When we do our testing, the car has to climb a steep mountain road in the middle of summer at noon. So it’s really capable of handling very hot situations.” The company’s 557,420 “gigafactory” in Nevada, when complete, will be able to fit eight Burj Khalifas lying down, and will be entirely powered by sustainable energy. The Model S can reach 100kph in 2.5 seconds and run up to 632 kilometres on one charge. The Model X can hit 100kph in about 2.9 seconds and has seating for seven. Its 100 kilowatt- hour battery can push it up to 565km.