Musk eyes to launch robotaxi in Saudi Arabia, where Uber leads the race

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's interest in launching robotaxis in Saudi Arabia comes at a time when the Kingdom's transport authority has already signed MoU with Uber to roll out self-driving cars by 2025

Tesla chief Elon Musk plans to introduce robotaxis in Saudi Arabia, including self-driving cars. “You can think of future cars as being robots on four wheels, and I think it would be very exciting to have autonomous vehicles here in the Kingdom if you're amenable,” Musk said, speaking to Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, at the US-Saudi Investment Forum on Tuesday.

 

Musk’s remarks came at a time when Uber is already preparing to launch autonomous vehicles in the kingdom, reports Business Insider.

 

According to Uber’s announcement dated May 6, the ride-hailing company plans to launch robotaxis in the Kingdom this year in collaboration with China-based Pony.AI. However, they did not specify a timeline for the launch. 

 

  Saudi Arabia’s Transport Authority said Tuesday it signed MoU with Uber to bring self-driving cars to the Kingdom. “The #TGA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with @Uber to establish a framework for strategic cooperation to enable the operation of autonomous vehicles in the Kingdom. The first autonomous vehicles are expected to launch via the Uber app in 2025, with safety operators on board,” the authority wrote on X. 

 

Uber is already a major player in Saudi Arabia’s rideshare market. It owns Careem, a go-to-ride platform in West Asia. Through this platform, Uber operates at least in 26 countries in Saudi Arabia, according to Business Insider’s report.  

 

 

Kingdom’s Vision 2030

 

Presently, under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia is working towards its broader Vision 2030. This is primarily aimed at reducing the country's economic dependence on oil while shifting towards technology and infrastructure through major investments. The country’s push for autonomous cars is part of this broader goal. Additionally, US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Kingdom on Tuesday was also seen as a step in this direction.

 

In a separate post on X, Saudi Arabia’s Transport Authority said, “The Minister of Transport and Logistic Services and Chairman of the Board of the #SaudiTGA, Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser, meets with the CEO of @Uber to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in smart mobility, achieving integration between various modes of transport, and supporting digital transformation in the sector, in line with Saudi Vision 2030 to achieve sustainable, safe, and efficient transportation.”

 

Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia

 

Currently, President Trump is on his three-day tour of West Asia. As part of the tour, he already visited Saudi Arabia and the next two destinations are Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

 

Trump’s close aide and adviser Elon Musk was in attendance, along with several high-profile executives, including BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, and Google CIO Ruth Porat. Also present were Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey, LinkedIn Executive Chairman Reid Hoffman, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.