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When is Tesla coming to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates?
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 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.
@sAlmaneei already in Jordan. Rest of states in region next year.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 21, 2015
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.
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.
Elon Musk
Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million
The milestone highlights the accelerating growth of Starlink, which has now been adding over 20,000 new users per day.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has continued its rapid global expansion, surpassing 9 million active customers just weeks after crossing the 8 million mark.
The milestone highlights the accelerating growth of Starlink, which has now been adding over 20,000 new users per day.
9 million customers
In a post on X, SpaceX stated that Starlink now serves over 9 million active users across 155 countries, territories, and markets. The company reached 8 million customers in early November, meaning it added roughly 1 million subscribers in under seven weeks, or about 21,275 new users on average per day.
“Starlink is connecting more than 9M active customers with high-speed internet across 155 countries, territories, and many other markets,” Starlink wrote in a post on its official X account. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell also celebrated the milestone on X. “A huge thank you to all of our customers and congrats to the Starlink team for such an incredible product,” she wrote.
That growth rate reflects both rising demand for broadband in underserved regions and Starlink’s expanding satellite constellation, which now includes more than 9,000 low-Earth-orbit satellites designed to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet worldwide.
Starlink’s momentum
Starlink’s momentum has been building up. SpaceX reported 4.6 million Starlink customers in December 2024, followed by 7 million by August 2025, and 8 million customers in November. Independent data also suggests Starlink usage is rising sharply, with Cloudflare reporting that global web traffic from Starlink users more than doubled in 2025, as noted in an Insider report.
Starlink’s momentum is increasingly tied to SpaceX’s broader financial outlook. Elon Musk has said the satellite network is “by far” the company’s largest revenue driver, and reports suggest SpaceX may be positioning itself for an initial public offering as soon as next year, with valuations estimated as high as $1.5 trillion. Musk has also suggested in the past that Starlink could have its own IPO in the future.
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NVIDIA Director of Robotics: Tesla FSD v14 is the first AI to pass the “Physical Turing Test”
After testing FSD v14, Fan stated that his experience with FSD felt magical at first, but it soon started to feel like a routine.
NVIDIA Director of Robotics Jim Fan has praised Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14 as the first AI to pass what he described as a “Physical Turing Test.”
After testing FSD v14, Fan stated that his experience with FSD felt magical at first, but it soon started to feel like a routine. And just like smartphones today, removing it now would “actively hurt.”
Jim Fan’s hands-on FSD v14 impressions
Fan, a leading researcher in embodied AI who is currently solving Physical AI at NVIDIA and spearheading the company’s Project GR00T initiative, noted that he actually was late to the Tesla game. He was, however, one of the first to try out FSD v14.
“I was very late to own a Tesla but among the earliest to try out FSD v14. It’s perhaps the first time I experience an AI that passes the Physical Turing Test: after a long day at work, you press a button, lay back, and couldn’t tell if a neural net or a human drove you home,” Fan wrote in a post on X.
Fan added: “Despite knowing exactly how robot learning works, I still find it magical watching the steering wheel turn by itself. First it feels surreal, next it becomes routine. Then, like the smartphone, taking it away actively hurts. This is how humanity gets rewired and glued to god-like technologies.”
The Physical Turing Test
The original Turing Test was conceived by Alan Turing in 1950, and it was aimed at determining if a machine could exhibit behavior that is equivalent to or indistinguishable from a human. By focusing on text-based conversations, the original Turing Test set a high bar for natural language processing and machine learning.
This test has been passed by today’s large language models. However, the capability to converse in a humanlike manner is a completely different challenge from performing real-world problem-solving or physical interactions. Thus, Fan introduced the Physical Turing Test, which challenges AI systems to demonstrate intelligence through physical actions.
Based on Fan’s comments, Tesla has demonstrated these intelligent physical actions with FSD v14. Elon Musk agreed with the NVIDIA executive, stating in a post on X that with FSD v14, “you can sense the sentience maturing.” Musk also praised Tesla AI, calling it the best “real-world AI” today.
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Tesla AI team burns the Christmas midnight oil by releasing FSD v14.2.2.1
The update was released just a day after FSD v14.2.2 started rolling out to customers.
Tesla is burning the midnight oil this Christmas, with the Tesla AI team quietly rolling out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.2.2.1 just a day after FSD v14.2.2 started rolling out to customers.
Tesla owner shares insights on FSD v14.2.2.1
Longtime Tesla owner and FSD tester @BLKMDL3 shared some insights following several drives with FSD v14.2.2.1 in rainy Los Angeles conditions with standing water and faded lane lines. He reported zero steering hesitation or stutter, confident lane changes, and maneuvers executed with precision that evoked the performance of Tesla’s driverless Robotaxis in Austin.
Parking performance impressed, with most spots nailed perfectly, including tight, sharp turns, in single attempts without shaky steering. One minor offset happened only due to another vehicle that was parked over the line, which FSD accommodated by a few extra inches. In rain that typically erases road markings, FSD visualized lanes and turn lines better than humans, positioning itself flawlessly when entering new streets as well.
“Took it up a dark, wet, and twisty canyon road up and down the hill tonight and it went very well as to be expected. Stayed centered in the lane, kept speed well and gives a confidence inspiring steering feel where it handles these curvy roads better than the majority of human drivers,” the Tesla owner wrote in a post on X.
Tesla’s FSD v14.2.2 update
Just a day before FSD v14.2.2.1’s release, Tesla rolled out FSD v14.2.2, which was focused on smoother real-world performance, better obstacle awareness, and precise end-of-trip routing. According to the update’s release notes, FSD v14.2.2 upgrades the vision encoder neural network with higher resolution features, enhancing detection of emergency vehicles, road obstacles, and human gestures.
New Arrival Options also allowed users to select preferred drop-off styles, such as Parking Lot, Street, Driveway, Parking Garage, or Curbside, with the navigation pin automatically adjusting to the ideal spot. Other refinements include pulling over for emergency vehicles, real-time vision-based detours for blocked roads, improved gate and debris handling, and Speed Profiles for customized driving styles.
Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million
NVIDIA Director of Robotics: Tesla FSD v14 is the first AI to pass the “Physical Turing Test”
