Tesla begins selling Cybertrucks in Qatar

(Reuters) -Tesla has begun selling its Cybertruck in Qatar, the U.S. electric vehicle maker said in a post on X on Friday, following the launch of its operations in Saudi Arabia earlier this year. The move underscores Tesla’s drive to widen its international reach as it faces slowing demand and intensifying competition in its core U.S. and Chinese markets. Tesla entered Saudi Arabia in April, unveiling the Cybertruck and a refreshed Model Y at an event in Riyadh. The company said it would support regional sales with online ordering, pop-up showrooms, Supercharger stations and service centers. The Saudi debut marked a symbolic reconciliation after a rift between Elon Musk and the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, which backed away from his 2018 “funding secured” plan to take Tesla private. Tesla first entered the Middle East in 2017 with a launch in the United Arab Emirates. Qatar now joins the UAE and Saudi Arabia as part of its first wave of Cybertruck sales outside North America. The company does not break out sales by regions for the Cybertruck model in its quarterly deliveries reports. However, a U.S. recall filing in March showed 46,096 Cybertrucks had been built between November 2023 and early this year. Tesla also faces strong regional competition from Chinese automakers BYD and Zeekr, as well as U.S. rival Lucid, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The Elon Musk-led company posted record deliveries in the third quarter driven by a rush of U.S. buyers trying to grab a $7,500 tax credit before it expired on September 30. However, analysts expect a sharp slump in the fourth quarter as the incentive for EV purchases vanishes. (Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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