Tesla's second-generation sports car, the Roadster, is set to make its debut next year.
The electric car maker's billionaire chief executive Elon Musk said in a tweet the prototype would be ready by the end of summer this year.
“Finishing engineering this year, production starts next year,” said Mr Musk.
“Aiming to have release candidate design drivable [by] late summer. Tri-motor drive system and advanced battery work were important precursors.”
Tesla, which first unveiled plans for the four-seater Roadster in November 2017, said it would be the world's fastest car.
Mr Musk said at the time that the company intended to build the new Roadster from 2020. However, the plans were delayed.
The first-generation Roadster was produced between 2008 and 2012, with the selling price starting at $80,000.
Tesla said the second-generation model can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in 2.1 seconds, hit a top speed of 400kph and travel up to 1,000km on a single recharge.
“You will be able to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and back, at highway speed without recharging," said Mr Musk earlier.
"The point of doing this is to just give a hardcore smackdown to [petrol] cars. Driving a [petrol] sports car is going to feel like a steam engine with a side of quiche.”
The base model is expected to start from $200,000 while the Founder Series, which will be limited to only 1,000 cars, will be about $250,000.
The UAE customers can book their their orders by paying a deposit of Dh18,000 ($4,900), followed by a payment of Dh165,000 over the next 10 days.
Customers can also pay Dh18,000 to book the Founders Series Roadster and send Dh900,000 by wire transfer after 10 days.
“The light-weight Roadster is an all-electric supercar ... [it] maximises the potential of aerodynamic engineering ... with record-setting performance and efficiency,” said Tesla.
It will come with a removable glass roof that can be stored in the boot for an open-air driving experience, the company said.
Tesla, which joined the S&P 500 index last month, delivered about 500,000 vehicles worldwide last year. It intends to increase production to more than 750,000 units this year.
The electric car maker delivered 57,039 Model X and Model S units, about 11 per cent of its total handovers, last year.
It sold 442,511 units of the Model 3 and Model Y last year.
The growing popularity of electric vehicles fuelled Tesla's fourth-quarter profit by 157 per cent.
Net profit rose to $270 million in the three months through to December 31, 2020.
Revenue rose by 46 per cent to $10.74 billion to surpass the average analyst estimate of $10.38bn.
This was the first time the company reported at least $10bn worth of sales.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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UAE-based players
Goodlands Riders: Jamshaid Butt, Ali Abid, JD Mahesh, Vibhor Shahi, Faizan Asif, Nadeem Rahim
Rose Hill Warriors: Faraz Sheikh, Ashok Kumar, Thabreez Ali, Janaka Chathuranga, Muzammil Afridi, Ameer Hamza
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Scoreline
Man Utd 2 Pogba 27', Martial 49'
Everton 1 Sigurdsson 77'
Company%20profile
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