Although Tesla only officially launched in the Emirates last week, you may have already spotted one of the Californian cars on the roads here. That’s because a small but determined group of people have bought Teslas from the United States or Europe and had them shipped over, despite the hefty importation costs, hitherto limited charging options, and the fact Tesla is yet to open a service centre in the country. They explain what made them take the plunge.
Stefano Cestarelli
Six years ago, Cestarelli became the first private owner of a fully electric car in Italy. Now, the 56-year-old Dubai resident, who is a dealer for an American small-aircraft company, is the owner of two Teslas – a Model S and X – both of which he uses when he visits the US. He has ordered a Model X for driving in Dubai, which is due to be delivered in May, and has put in a pre-order for the highly anticipated Tesla Model 3, which is due to be delivered next May.
“I’ve been a Tesla fan since the beginning of the company’s adventure – I drove all the way from Italy to Geneva to test-drive a Tesla Roadster [the original Tesla] in 2009. I’ve had more than 20 cars over the years, most of them Mercedes-Benz. Tesla is a totally new concept – the highest technology car with a traditional engine cannot be compared. The ride is smooth, the car is absolutely quiet and the performance is unbelievable. You never need to stop at fuel stations, and the technical servicing is just once a year and very simple.
“At the beginning, many people wanted to see the car and would give me a thumbs-up, even while driving. Now in the US, it’s more common to see Teslas, but people still stop to ask me questions.”
Abdulla Bin Sulayem
The Emirati, who is the chief executive of luxury property developer Seven Tides, bought a Tesla Model S in April 2014 and was one of the first people in the UAE to import a Model X, which was delivered to him in Dubai in October.
Saving money is one benefit of a Tesla, because it only costs me around Dh25 for a full charge, which is much cheaper than petrol. But the savings aren’t the most appealing aspect. For me, it’s about not having the inconvenience of waiting in line at the gas station.
“There’s no noise in a Tesla, and the only maintenance are your tyres, and wiper blades, which you can order online for US$20 [Dh73] dollars to replace once a year. I’ve never had any problems with my Teslas, but I’m glad that Tesla are now opening a service centre here in Dubai. As with anything else in life, things do go wrong, and I can now get a support team to deal with problems when they arise.
“I compare buying a Tesla with when we all slowly started converting from conventional phones to smartphones, and then you get all these additional services. I believe that as with using smart phones, driving an electric car will become the norm. I think that in the next four or five years, more than half the population of the UAE will be driving one.
“Tesla are coming up with more commercial products, which are better value for money, and the capabilities of the Tesla are getting better. All new Teslas come with the hardware needed for autonomous driving, which means that in the next year-and-a-half, you won’t need to drive from one point to another. You’ll be able to just input the address, sit in the back and the car will take you there.
“The only limitation I’ve encountered with my Telsa is that when I first bought one, Dewa did not have any chargers. I was limited to charging at home, where I have the normal plugs, which is very time-consuming. Now, Tesla have installed Superchargers, so if I need to charge, I can go there and a 15-minute charge will go for 200 kilometres. If I recharge at The Last Exit [in Jebel Ali], that’s sufficient time to grab a meal at one of their food trucks. You get a Dewa card and use their chargers – they’ve installed 100 chargers all over Dubai – and you pay the same rate as you’d pay charging at home. It gets transferred to your home electric bill, instead of having to hand over cash each time, so it’s very convenient.”
Jordan Spasovski
The air-traffic controller from Macedonia, who lives in Abu Dhabi, has had his Model S for two months.
“My interest in Tesla began when I heard about Elon Musk and his incredible ventures such as SpaceX, SolarCity and Tesla. I was impressed by his goal of making humans an interplanetary species and the mission of Tesla to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport. “When I ordered my Telsa online, I asked for it to be delivered in Norway. When the car was there, I flew with my son to Norway, took delivery of the car and drove it for a week, before handing it over to the shipping agent for the trip to Jebel Ali. The car arrived in six weeks. “The most outstanding features are quietness, refinement, intuitiveness, acceleration, autopilot [driver-assistance features] and convenience to charge it at home and have a full battery every morning, instead of queuing up at a gas station.
“The downside to owning a Tesla is when you need to drive any other car, you feel like you’ve stepped back in time. Tesla is always improving, so you always crave the new features. Tesla drivers I know, myself included, tend to be more tech geeks [than car fanatics] and love the entire package that Tesla offers: technology, performance, design, the vision of the man behind Tesla.”
Fahad Bubshait
A Saudi who runs a virtual-reality gaming company in Dubai, Bubshait bought his Tesla Model S P85D in 2015. He also leases a Model X in the US. “I was originally manager of a hedge fund, which I unwound in 2013, and then didn’t know what I was going to do. I read a newspaper article about Elon Musk, then for the next two weeks, I read every article and saw every video about him, and was fascinated by him.
“When I was just buying and selling, I never really felt like I was impacting anyone’s life. What he was doing was so unbelievable, I was fascinated and had to test the Tesla. The first one was a P85D – at that time, that was all they had. I couldn’t believe the drive, the feeling – I was in love. “I’ve owned Ferraris, Lamborghinis, but at that moment, every other car seemed a waste in comparison. I had my Tesla shipped from the States, which cost Dh550,000 in all, but it was worth it. It’s a better car than when I first got it 18 months ago, because it’s 0.1 seconds faster, with upgraded software. You get software updates automatically, so you get new features for free.
“My kids are 10, 8 and 4, and they love sitting in the rear-facing child seats.”
Joerg Zinn
The German, who lives in Abu Dhabi, who is a regional programme manager for Nokia, has a Model S 85D that he bought a year ago for Dh400,000 in Germany. “My Tesla has been a big investment for me, but it’s been worth every dirham. It’s very spacious and sporty, with quite a high-end interior. The 85D has a bigger battery capability and only takes me three-and-a-half hours to recharge from home, which I do maybe twice a week. It has a range of 400km, so even with the AC running, I could drive from Abu Dhabi to Sharjah and back without recharging. “My wife and I share the car. She was initially concerned about the charge running out, but now she loves the Tesla and drives it more than me. This weekend, we’re driving to Ras Al Khaimah on holiday, and we’ll charge it at regular power sockets next to our hotel’s golf carts. It’s a bit slower charging it there, but it works the same way.
“I’ve noticed an increase in my electricity bills of around Dh150 a month since having the Tesla. When I compare that with my previous car [a Toyota B6 Land Cruiser], in one year, I’ve saved approximately Dh8,000, plus another Dh4,000 on maintenance, and I’ve driven it more than 40,000 kilometres.”
Jen Thomas
The homepage editor at The National, originally from the US, is one of an estimated 400,000 people around the world to have pre-ordered the Model 3 – she secured her car with a down payment of US$1,000 (Dh3,673). She currently rents a car in the UAE.
“I was in California for the first time last year, and Teslas are everywhere there. Until then, I’d never realised they were a viable option for ‘regular’ people. Then I found out I could pre-order the Model 3, which is the more affordable [starting from $35,000 (Dh128,548)] version of a Tesla. I figured that if I’m going to spend money owning a car, it might as well be a car that has meaning. We’re all going to have electric cars eventually, so I might as well get mine now.
“Two weeks ago, I went with a friend to the Tesla showroom near San Francisco to look at the Model 3 options – different colours, special features, sunroof – and I started getting really psyched about my own Tesla. It’s like having an expensive purse – it’s a status symbol.
“There are lots of benefits too, other than saving money on petrol. In California, if you have an electric car, you can park for free in some municipalities, and there are tax incentives.”
motoring@thenational.ae
