RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Tesla officially launched in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, marking a new chapter in the company’s global expansion after Elon Musk ’s troubled relationship with the kingdom — but the Middle East country’s extreme heat could pose a challenge for its electric vehicle performance and battery efficiency.
Musk and Saudi Arabia have had a complicated history. Back in 2018, the Tesla CEO claimed he had secured funding from the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund to take the company private. That deal never happened, leading to lingering tensions.
With the launch of its first showroom and service center in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Tesla makes its long-anticipated entry into the Saudi market. The facility will offer models, including Model 3, Model Y and the Cybertruck, and pop-up stores are also opening in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam.
The Riyadh event drew a large and diverse crowd — from content creators and car enthusiasts to visitors excited about Tesla's launch.
“It’s a beautiful step we’ve been waiting for — to finally see Tesla open in Saudi Arabia,” said Bader Khalid, a local businessman. “The country is clearly moving toward electric vehicles.”
"Tesla is one of the most important EV companies in the world, so it’s a big deal to have them present in our market,” he added.
However, the kingdom still faces significant challenges in infrastructure, with a limited number of public EV charging stations available. The government has announced plans to expand charging networks as part of its sustainability goals.
Musk has a large fan base in the kingdom, praised by many for his creativity and innovation, and seen as a visionary of the future.
“He’s always looking ahead," said Mohammed Osama, a teenager who describes himself as enthusiastic about everything Tesla. "Maybe a few things don’t make sense right now, but in the future, it’ll all come together — he’s building something bigger.”
Many attendees expected Musk to make an appearance, at least via video, but he didn’t show.
Though Tesla has faced criticism and even vandalism in parts of the United States and elsewhere, after Musk took a prominent role in President Donald Trump’s administration. People have protested Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has been moving to slash the size of the federal government through large-scale layoffs, contract cancellations and other moves.
Still, many in Saudi Arabia believe that won't impact Tesla's performance in the kingdom.
“Political events outside of Saudi Arabia don’t concern us," said Khalid. "So I don’t think this thing has any effect.”
Lucid Motors, another luxury electric vehicle manufacturer, headquartered in California, has had a deepening relationship with Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund is one of Lucid’s largest backers, owning a majority stake in the company. In 2022, Lucid announced plans to build its first international manufacturing plant in the city of Jeddah, a major step in the kingdom's push to become a hub for advanced automotive technology.
The growing interest in electric vehicles aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 — an ambitious plan to diversify the economy and reduce its dependence on oil. EVs are a key part of the strategy, with the government aiming for 30% of all vehicles in Riyadh to be electric by 2030.
People attend a celebration for the start of Tesla operations in Saudi Arabia in historic Diriyah near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, April 10, 2025 (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)
People attend a celebration for the start of Tesla operations in Saudi Arabia in historic Diriyah near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, April 10, 2025 (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)
People attend a celebration for the start of Tesla operations in Saudi Arabia in historic Diriyah near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, April 10, 2025 (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)
ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.
The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.
The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.
The U.S.-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Islamic State group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria's national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”
The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.
Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.
The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.
On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.
Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.
“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”
Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.
Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.
“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.
Associated Press journalist Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
Sandbag barriers used as fighting positions by Kurdish fighters, left inside a destroyed mosque in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Burned vehicles at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
People flee the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
A Syrian military police convoy enters the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Burned vehicles and ammunitions left at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
