Tesla has opened its first store in Qatar, following sales launch last year

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Tesla has officially opened its first store and showroom in Qatar, after the automaker initially launched sales in the country late last year.

The new Tesla store was announced by Delivery Operations Supervisor Momo Elmegrahi in a LinkedIn post on Friday, along with photos of the site. The Tesla store is located in Doha, at the Doha Festival City mall, and it’s open seven days a week, according to Tesla’s website.

“This milestone marks a significant step in our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy,” Elmegrahi writes in the post. “Our Qatar store will provide customers with the opportunity to experience and purchase our cutting-edge vehicles, including the Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y.”

Credit: Momo Elmegrahi | LinkedIn

Credit: Momo Elmegrahi | LinkedIn

Qatar has the fourth-highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the world, being well known as one of the world’s largest exporters of oil and natural gas. As Elmegrahi seems to reference in his post, the country gaining an electric vehicle (EV) company feels like an important step toward electrification.

Like most of Tesla other stores, customers in Qatar will now be able to visit the site to see and purchase the automaker’s vehicles in person, schedule demo drives, and more. The company is also aiming to open two Supercharger locations in the capitol city sometime this year, and the store’s opening follows Tesla’s initial launch of vehicle sales in the country in December.

Tesla also installed a Megapack system for the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation in 2020, located at a site south of Doha in Nuaija. The project cost around $2.7 million, and construction on the 1 MW/4 MWh project took about a year.

SpaceX Starlink services to launch on Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER aircraft

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Tesla has opened its first store in Qatar, following sales launch last year





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Tesla Cybertruck police cruiser looks ready for serious action

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A Tesla Cybertruck has been outfitted for police use, and it looks absolutely phenomenal. With its domineering presence and brutalist lines, the Cybertruck may very well be the perfect futuristic police vehicle. 

A video of a Cybertruck outfitted with police equipment was shared on social media by Tesla tuner Unplugged Performance, the company behind Dark Helmet, a Pikes Peak-winning Model S Plaid racecar. As could be seen in the video, Unplugged Performance’s UP.Fit police kit — which includes emergency lights on the roof and the side and a custom wrap — matches the Cybertruck very well. 

There are quite a number of advantages that a Cybertruck could offer law enforcement. It’s a pretty large vehicle, so it could carry a decent amount of tools, and its spacious cabin has enough space for all the custom equipment that police cruisers require. Modifying the second-row seats to hold perpetrators would probably not be a complicated matter either. 

So far, the reactions from the Tesla community to the Cybertruck police cruiser have been quite positive, with users in social media and forums like the Cybertruck Owners Club noting that the all-electric truck’s police cruiser version would be a perfect fit for a Hollywood movie. Others noted that with the addition of a push bumper, the Cybertruck police cruiser would look even more intimidating. Perpetrators would probably not want to be on the receiving end of a Cybertruck police cruiser’s pit maneuver, after all. 

Unplugged Performance’s UP.Fit line also includes a kit for the Model Y, which the company estimates would cost about $90,000 for the whole package. The Tesla tuner noted that its Model Y police vehicle could save police departments $27,012 over five years, at least compared to a Ford Police interceptor utility – Hybrid. But inasmuch as a Model Y police car is sensible and capable, there’s very little doubt that the Tesla Cybertruck just has so much more presence when it’s converted into a law enforcement unit. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Tesla Cybertruck police cruiser looks ready for serious action





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Tesla Board encouraged to “find ways to reward Elon Musk” by Jefferies

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A recent note from Jefferies has stated that Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Board of Directors must “find ways to reward Elon Musk as a tech innovator.” In their note, the Jefferies analysts highlighted that Musk’s attention is divided, as he is involved in several companies. This, the analysts noted, could adversely affect Tesla. 

“The challenge for the Board will be to devise compensation schemes that reward achieving milestones in technology innovation, including separation or spin-off of activities when needed, and ensuring the sustainability of operating performance,” the Jefferies analysts wrote. 

The Jefferies analysts also noted that while Musk has strengths in driving technological advancements, the CEO has shown a tendency to lose interest as his businesses see more competition, as noted in a Yahoo! Finance report. Such sentiments may be quite strange considering that Musk has led Tesla through its most challenging times, including those when the company has come close to bankruptcy. 

“His reluctance to delegate leadership and responsibilities undermines execution, at least at Tesla… Unlike Tesla, businesses like SpaceX and Starlink operate in environments where competition is limited for now,” the Jefferies analysts noted. 

The analysts also shared their thoughts on Tesla’s upcoming 2024 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting. As per the analysts, if TSLA shareholders reject the company’s proposal to ratify Musk’s 2018 compensation plan, it would reflect “misplaced buyer’s remorse,” considering that the plan saw significant approval from TSLA shareholders when it was initially passed six years ago. 

Tesla has been putting in a lot of effort to encourage TSLA shareholders to vote for Proposals Three and Four in the 2024 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting. Proposal Three concerns Tesla’s proposed reincorporation from Delaware to Texas, and Proposal Four involves the ratification of Elon Musk’s 2018 CEO Performance Award. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Tesla Board encouraged to “find ways to reward Elon Musk” by Jefferies





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