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When is Tesla coming to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates?

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If you think people living in one of the world’s most oil rich nations would not be interested in sustainable energy and driving electric automobiles, think again. Citizens of the United Arab Emirates are deeply involved in sustainability due to the harsh climates they live in. They’re also deeply interested in experiencing cutting edge technology and no better way to do that than to drive a Tesla, the most technologically advanced car in the world.

The UAE is comprised of 7 emirates located along the shores of the Persian Gulf on the eastern side of the Arabian peninsular. At the present time, the closest Tesla Superchargers are located hundreds of miles to the west in Jordan.

Tesla Supercharger in Jordan

Tesla Supercharger location in Jordan via Facebook, September, 2015

Back in 2015, Elon Musk tweeted that other nations in the area would soon be included in the Tesla community, but external factors like war and political insecurity have kept Tesla from developing more of a presence in the Middle East. At the present time, no new Superchargers in the area are planned, according to Tesla’s Supercharger map.

None of that has kept buyers in the UAE from bombarding Tesla with requests for information about purchasing a Tesla. In fact, some of the strongest interest the company has received in its upcoming Model 3 comes from that area.

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Last April, Ryan Kennedy, a sales manager at Tesla in the United States, told UAE news source 7days that the Middle East is now one of Tesla’s biggest markets even though charging infrastructure is almost nonexistent in the area. “Out of all our international requests, we get the most calls from the Middle East region… almost every day.”

Kennedy said that buyers are “eager to know how can they get Tesla cars over there,” then added, “We have a lot of buyers in that particular market and with Tesla Motors looking to expand locations across the globe by mid-2017, Dubai could be an important candidate.”

This week has been Sustainability Week in Abu Dhabi, an annual event sponsored by Masdar Corporation, a $15 billion dollar multinational business that promotes cleantech research and investments. Its CEO, Dr Ahmad Belhoul, has been involved in sustainability initiatives since 2006 — long before the world agreed to wide ranging climate protocols in Paris in December, 2015.

The buzz among the attendees at this year’s event is that Tesla is very close to opening a showroom in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai — or possibly both. It’s not official yet. A Tesla spokesperson would say only, “We don’t have anything to share yet but will certainly keep you posted on any news relating to the UAE.” according to a report from CleanTechnica.

If the rumors are correct, Tesla would be joining BMW in the Middle East market. The German company already sells its i3 electric sedan and i8 hybrid electric sports car there. The Emirates are also home to dealerships for McLaren, Ferrari, and other ultra luxury performance cars. Since the new Tesla Model S P100D is faster to 60 mph than any of those other cars, it could prove to be a very popular choice for wealthy residents of the Emirates.

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The United Arab Emirates has become a premium global brand thanks to the reputation for excellent service earned by Emirates airline. Adding Tesla’s own prestigious brand to the UAE international profile would make perfect sense. We will keep you informed of any official word from Tesla about expanding operations to include showrooms and Supercharger facilities in the UAE.

"I write about technology and the coming zero emissions revolution."

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Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk teases insane capabilities of next major FSD update

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Credit: Tesla China/Weibo

Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased the insane capabilities of the next major Full Self-Driving update just hours after the company rolled out version 14.2 to owners.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 had some major improvements from the previous iteration of v14.1.x. We were on v14.1.7, the most advanced configuration of the v14.1 family, before Tesla transitioned us and others to v14.2.

However, Musk has said that the improvements coming in the next major update, which will be v14.3, will be where “the last big piece of the puzzle finally lands.”

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There were some major improvements with v14.2, most notably, Tesla seemed to narrow in on the triggers that caused issues with hesitation and brake stabbing in v14.1.x.

One of the most discussed issues with the past rollout was that of brake stabbing, where the vehicle would contemplate proceeding with a route as traffic was coming from other directions.

We experienced it most frequently at intersections, especially four-way stop signs.

Elon Musk hints at when Tesla can fix this FSD complaint with v14

In our review of it yesterday, it was evident that this issue had been resolved, at least to the extent that we had no issues with it in a 62-minute drive, which you can watch here.

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Some owners also reported a more relaxed driver monitoring system, which is something Tesla said it was working on as it hopes to allow drivers to text during operation in the coming months. We did not test this, as laws in Pennsylvania prohibit the use of phones at any time due to the new Paul Miller’s Law, which took effect earlier this year.

However, the improvements indicate that Tesla is certainly headed toward a much more sentient FSD experience, so much so that Musk’s language seems to be more indicative of a more relaxed experience in terms of overall supervision from the driver, especially with v14.3.

Musk did not release or discuss a definitive timeline for the release of v14.3, especially as v14.2 just rolled out to Early Access Program (EAP) members yesterday. However, v14.1 rolled out to Tesla owners just a few weeks ago in late 2025. There is the potential that v14.3 could be part of the coming Holiday Update, or potentially in a release of its own before the New Year.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 – Full Review, the Good and the Bad

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Credit: Teslarati

Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving version 14.2 yesterday to members of the Early Access Program (EAP). Expectations were high, and Tesla surely delivered.

With the rollout of Tesla FSD v14.2, there were major benchmarks for improvement from the v14.1 suite, which spanned across seven improvements. Our final experience with v14.1 was with v14.1.7, and to be honest, things were good, but it felt like there were a handful of regressions from previous iterations.

While there were improvements in brake stabbing and hesitation, we did experience a few small interventions related to navigation and just overall performance. It was nothing major; there were no critical takeovers that required any major publicity, as they were more or less subjective things that I was not particularly comfortable with. Other drivers might have been more relaxed.

With v14.2 hitting our cars yesterday, there were a handful of things we truly noticed in terms of improvement, most notably the lack of brake stabbing and hesitation, a major complaint with v14.1.x.

However, in a 62-minute drive that was fully recorded, there were a lot of positives, and only one true complaint, which was something we haven’t had issues with in the past.

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The Good

Lack of Brake Stabbing and Hesitation

Perhaps the most notable and publicized issue with v14.1.x was the presence of brake stabbing and hesitation. Arriving at intersections was particularly nerve-racking on the previous version simply because of this. At four-way stops, the car would not be assertive enough to take its turn, especially when other vehicles at the same intersection would inch forward or start to move.

This was a major problem.

However, there were no instances of this yesterday on our lengthy drive. It was much more assertive when arriving at these types of scenarios, but was also more patient when FSD knew it was not the car’s turn to proceed.

This improvement was the most noticeable throughout the drive, along with fixes in overall smoothness.

Speed Profiles Seem to Be More Reasonable

There were a handful of FSD v14 users who felt as if the loss of a Max Speed setting was a negative. However, these complaints will, in our opinion, begin to subside, especially as things have seemed to be refined quite nicely with v14.2.

Freeway driving is where this is especially noticeable. If it’s traveling too slow, just switch to a faster profile. If it’s too fast, switch to a slower profile. However, the speeds seem to be much more defined with each Speed Profile, which is something that I really find to be a huge advantage. Previously, you could tell the difference in speeds, but not in driving styles. At times, Standard felt a lot like Hurry. Now, you can clearly tell the difference between the two.

It seems as if Tesla made a goal that drivers should be able to tell which Speed Profile is active if it was not shown on the screen. With v14.1.x, this was not necessarily something that could be done. With v14.2, if someone tested me on which Speed Profile was being used, I’m fairly certain I could pick each one.

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Better Overall Operation

I felt, at times, especially with v14.1.7, there were some jerky movements. Nothing that was super alarming, but there were times when things just felt a little more finicky than others.

v14.2 feels much smoother overall, with really great decision-making, lane changes that feel second nature, and a great speed of travel. It was a very comfortable ride.

The Bad

Parking

It feels as if there was a slight regression in parking quality, as both times v14.2 pulled into parking spots, I would have felt compelled to adjust manually if I were staying at my destinations. For the sake of testing, at my first destination, I arrived, allowed the car to park, and then left. At the tail-end of testing, I walked inside the store that FSD v14.2 drove me to, so I had to adjust the parking manually.

This was pretty disappointing. Apart from parking at Superchargers, which is always flawless, parking performance is something that needs some attention. The release notes for v14.2. state that parking spot selection and parking quality will improve with future versions.

However, this was truly my only complaint about v14.2.

You can check out our full 62-minute ride-along below:

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SpaceX issues statement on Starship V3 Booster 18 anomaly

The incident unfolded during gas-system pressure testing at the company’s Massey facility in Starbase, Texas. 

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Credit: SpaceX/X

SpaceX has issued an initial statement about Starship Booster 18’s anomaly early Friday. The incident unfolded during gas-system pressure testing at the company’s Massey facility in Starbase, Texas. 

SpaceX’s initial comment

As per SpaceX in a post on its official account on social media platform X, Booster 18 was undergoing gas system pressure tests when the anomaly happened. Despite the nature of the incident, the company emphasized that no propellant was loaded, no engines were installed, and personnel were kept at a safe distance from the booster, resulting in zero injuries.

“Booster 18 suffered an anomaly during gas system pressure testing that we were conducting in advance of structural proof testing. No propellant was on the vehicle, and engines were not yet installed. The teams need time to investigate before we are confident of the cause. No one was injured as we maintain a safe distance for personnel during this type of testing. The site remains clear and we are working plans to safely reenter the site,” SpaceX wrote in its post on X. 

Incident and aftermath

Livestream footage from LabPadre showed Booster 18’s lower half crumpling around the liquid oxygen tank area at approximately 4:04 a.m. CT. Subsequent images posted by on-site observers revealed extensive deformation across the booster’s lower structure. Needless to say, spaceflight observers have noted that Booster 18 would likely be a complete loss due to its anomaly.

Booster 18 had rolled out only a day earlier and was one of the first vehicles in the Starship V3 program. The V3 series incorporates structural reinforcements and reliability upgrades intended to prepare Starship for rapid-reuse testing and eventual tower-catch operations. Elon Musk has been optimistic about Starship V3, previously noting on X that the spacecraft might be able to complete initial missions to Mars.

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