Tesla has announced on its website that it will begin selling its electric cars in Saudi Arabia next month. This move indicates that CEO Elon Musk and Saudi Arabia have put aside their differences, which stemmed from Musk's failed attempt to take Tesla private in 2018. While Tesla operates in other Middle Eastern countries, it has not yet entered Saudi Arabia, the Gulf region’s largest market.

The conflict began in 2018 when Musk tweeted that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private after discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). However, when the deal did not materialise, investors filed a lawsuit, releasing tense text exchanges between Musk and PIF chief Yasir al-Rumayyan.

Things have been calming down between Elon Musk and Saudi Arabia since last fall when Musk became a key player in Donald Trump's presidential campaign and later his administration. Earlier this month, Trump stated that his first international trip would likely be to Saudi Arabia. Following a request in January for Saudi Arabia to invest over $1 trillion in the US economy over four years, including military purchases. Tesla is now set to launch its products in Riyadh. Per the post, on April 10, Tesla will host an event showcasing its electric vehicles and solar-powered products.

“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 stated without specifying when the products would be available for sale in the kingdom.

Guests invited to the event were asked to specify which Tesla model they were interested in. The launch comes when Tesla’s EV sales have declined in Europe, partly due to backlash over Musk’s support for far-right politicians. In the U.S., the brand has also faced protests over its role in pushing for significant federal budget cuts.

Meanwhile, EV sales in Saudi Arabia remain low, accounting for just 1% of total car sales in 2024, according to a PwC report. The market already features EVs from Chinese automaker BYD and Lucid, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

A month after its public dispute with Musk, the PIF invested over $1 billion in Lucid, making it the majority investor in the EV startup aiming to compete with Tesla. The $925 billion fund has also backed Ceer, a domestic EV brand that has yet to launch. However, large fuel-hungry vehicles are still standard on Saudi roads due to cheap fuel and a lack of EV charging infrastructure, making driving long distances across the desert in an electric vehicle tricky.

In a sign of improving ties, Musk was seen alongside Rumayyan and Trump at a UFC mixed martial arts event in New York last November. Just weeks earlier, Musk had made an unexpected video appearance at Riyadh’s Future Investment Initiative summit. In 2023, a U.S. jury ruled that Musk was not liable for misleading investors when he tweeted about securing funding to take Tesla private. During the case, Musk testified that the PIF had been interested in taking Tesla private at the time of his tweet, and a series of tense text exchanges between him and Rumayyan were revealed.

According to court documents, Musk sent a text message to Rumayyan that read: “You are throwing me under the bus.”

Tesla’s sales in Europe have dropped by 42.6% this year despite growing demand for electric vehicles, according to data released on Tuesday. Meanwhile, activists across the U.S. have organised “Tesla Takedown” protests against Musk’s leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency, which has resulted in mass job cuts, a freeze on foreign aid, and the cancellation of numerous programs and contracts.