Tesla’s Saudi Arabia entry signals the end of a feud

MUSK’S SPAT WITH SAUDI WEALTH FUND CHIEF FOLLOWED A TWEET

- 

Tesla Inc. is opening up shop in Saudi Arabia in the latest sign Elon Musk has put to rest a once-bitter feud with one of the kingdom’s most powerful men.

The company was slated to showcase its model lineup, plus prototypes of its Cybercab and humanoid robot Optimus, at a launch event yesterday in Riyadh. Tesla has offered little detail about its broader plans, but at least one showroom appears to be under development in the capital.

‘Funding secured’ tweet

Tesla’s entry into Saudi Arabia is a fresh signal Musk has mended relations with the kingdom after a spat with Yasir Al Rumayyan, head of the $925 billion Public Investment Fund. The two had a falling out after Musk tweeted in August 2018 that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private on the basis of preliminary talks he’d had with Al Rumayyan.