Saudi Arabia putting its money on tech as it prepares for life after oil

The project includes a bridge spanning the Red Sea, connecting the proposed city to Egypt and the rest of Africa

The world’s biggest crude exporter is attempting to future-proof itself against oil’s decline by investing in futuristic technologies.

Saudi Arabia has accumulated a stake in electric car maker Tesla Inc. for about $2 billion through its Public Investment Fund and aims to be part of any investor pool that emerges to take the company private. That’s on top of a $3.5 billion investment in ride-sharing company Uber Technologies Inc., a $45 billion commitment to SoftBank Group Corp.’s $100 billion technology fund and a planned investment of about $1 billion in Virgin Group’s space companies.

Neom, a planned $500 billion futuristic city that