Elon Musk says he wants to bring Tesla Robotaxis to Saudi Arabia

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he wanted to bring a robotaxis to Saudi Arabia, where Uber is already launching the basics to launch autonomous vehicles later this year.

Tuesday, during the US-SAUDI Investment Forum, Musk made a great effort for robotics in Saudi Arabia, including autonomous cars.

“Really, you can consider future cars as robots on four wheels, and I think it would be very exciting to have autonomous vehicles here in the kingdom if you are ready to have fun,” Musk told Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi communications and information technology.

Musk has provided no details or chronology for this.

Tesla has not yet launched its Robotaxi service to the public all over the world. The company said it was planning to launch a service pilot in Austin in June. Musk said that the rise for expansion later should be fast.

A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comments.

Saudi leaders have said they wanted autonomous vehicles to play a role in the larger 2030 vision of the country’s 2030, which aim to reduce the region’s economic dependence on oil by making heavy investments in technology. Last year, the country published a regulatory framework around the adoption of autonomous cars.

Uber announced on May 6 that it planned to deploy Robotaxie in the kingdom this year thanks to its partnership with China’s Pony.ai. The company did not specify a date.

In the United States, Robotaxi’s ambitions from Pony.ai stopped in 2022 after the Ministry of Motor Vehicles revoked its California license, citing several driving violations. The startup continues to offer autonomous walks to the public in China.

A spokesperson for Pony.ai did not respond to a request for comments.

The General Transport Authority of Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday in an X position that the agency had signed a memorandum of understanding with Uber to launch autonomous vehicles in the kingdom. A memorandum of understanding is not binding and simply indicates an intention to collaborate.

“The first autonomous vehicles that should start on the Uber platform with security operators on board 2025,” wrote the transport general Authority.

Uber is already an important player on the kingdom’s carpooling market.

The company has Careem, which is the application of driving stem in the Middle East, operating in 26 cities in the kingdom. Uber also operates its carpooling service in the region separately.

A Uber spokesperson refused to comment. A Careem spokesperson did not respond to a request for comments.

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