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Tesla launches business in new Middle East country

Credit: Tesla

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Tesla has launched its business in a new Middle Eastern country, marking the fourth in the region where it is selling its electric cars.

Tesla announced today that it has officially started selling vehicles in Qatar, a small peninsular country that sits between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The electric automaker launched its vehicle configurator in the country this morning, offering the Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y to potential buyers in the country.

Tesla also operates in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, as the four countries are currently the only places in the Middle East where customers can buy the company’s vehicles.

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Model S

Tesla is offering two Model S configurations in Qatar, the Dual Motor All-Wheel-Drive and the Plaid. Both slated for delivery from February to March of next year, the Model S will be built in Fremont and shipped to customers in Qatar.

  • Tesla Model S – Dual Motor All-Wheel-Drive – QAR 314,990 or $86,511.97
  • Tesla Model S – Tri-Motor All-Wheel-Drive Plaid – QAR 359,990 or $98,871.22

Model 3

Tesla is offering the Model 3’s new design in Qatar as it launched earlier this year with a new design in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Known as the Highland Model 3, it features new exterior and interior designs and features. This vehicle will come from China, being built at Tesla’s Gigafactory Shanghai.

  • Tesla Model 3 – Rear-Wheel-Drive – QAR 164,990 or $45,314.49
  • Tesla Model 3 – Dual Motor All-Wheel-Drive – QAR 184,990 or $50,807.49

Tesla Model X

The Model X offerings are the same as the Model S, and its journey to Qatar customers will be identical. Delivery is expected between February and March.

  • Tesla Model X – Dual Motor All-Wheel-Drive – QAR 334,990 or $92,004.97
  • Tesla Model X – Tri Motor All-Wheel-Drive – QAR 379,990 or $104,364.22

Tesla Model Y

The Tesla Model Y that is being shipped to Qatar is likely coming from Germany at Gigafactory Berlin based on the paint colors the automaker is offering for this vehicle. Both Midnight Cherry Red and Quicksilver are available for the car, which is developed only at Gigafactory Berlin.

Three configurations of the Model Y are being offered in Qatar. Deliveries are expected to occur between February and March for all three trims.

  • Tesla Model Y – Rear-Wheel-Drive – QAR 184,990 or $50,807.49
  • Tesla Model Y – Long Range All-Wheel-Drive – QAR 204,990 or $56,300.48
  • Tesla Model Y – Performance All-Wheel-Drive – QAR 229,990 or $63,166.73

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla adds useful Model 3/Y feature home chargers will love

Tesla has made it easier for Model 3 and Y owners to unlock the charging cable with certain adapters, chargers, and home chargers.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla has recently added a small, albeit useful feature for owners who charge their electric vehicles (EVs) at home, and specifically for those who use third-party chargers.

Although Tesla’s first-party home chargers include a physical latch and unlatch button, many third-party chargers do not. As such, in Tesla’s software update 2025.20 that began rolling out this week, the automaker added a subtle shortcut for the Model 3 and Model Y that allows users to stop charging sessions on third-party charging handles and adapters without the unlatch button (via Not a Tesla App).

To unlock the pin that locks the charging cable in place, Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners will now be able to pull and hold the rear left door handle near the charging port for three seconds, at which it will unlatch. Owners would previously have had to crawl into the trunk to do this from inside the vehicle, and the addition will simply add another option to open the door.

The feature requires owners to have the vehicle be either unlocked or have the key nearby, and is especially of benefit to owners who regularly use home or other chargers with NACS adapters such as the J1772, which often don’t necessarily unlatch even when pressing the cable’s button or don’t include a button at all.

READ MORE ON TESLA CHARGING FEATURES: Tesla exec shares unique Supercharger team rule that accelerates EV adoption

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You can see a short video of the feature at work below, as posted on Thursday by X user Max Bracco.

It’s not clear as of yet whether or not the feature will be added to Tesla’s other vehicles, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see down the road. Tesla writes the following on the Model 3 and Model Y feature in its 2025.20 release notes:

Charging can now be stopped and the charge cable released by pulling and holding the rear left door handle for 3 seconds, provided the vehicle is unlocked or a recognized key is nearby. This is especially useful when the charge cable doesn’t have an unlatch button. You can still release the cable using the vehicle touchscreen or the Tesla app.

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SpaceX to decommission Dragon spacecraft in response to Pres. Trump war of words with Elon Musk

Elon Musk says SpaceX will decommission Dragon as a result of President Trump’s threat to end his subsidies and government contracts.

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SpaceX will decommission its Dragon spacecraft in response to the intense war of words that President Trump and CEO Elon Musk have entered on various social media platforms today.

President Trump and Musk, who was once considered a right-hand man to Trump, have entered a vicious war of words on Thursday. The issues stem from Musk’s disagreement with the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which will increase the U.S. federal deficit, the Tesla and SpaceX frontman says.

How Tesla could benefit from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that axes EV subsidies

The insults and threats have been brutal, as Trump has said he doesn’t know if he’ll respect Musk again, and Musk has even stated that the President would not have won the election in November if it were not for him.

President Trump then said later in the day that:

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“The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Government Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”

Musk’s response was simple: he will decommission the SpaceX capsule responsible for transporting crew and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS): Dragon.

Dragon has completed 51 missions, 46 of which have been to the ISS. It is capable of carrying up to 7 passengers to and from Earth’s orbit. It is the only spacecraft that is capable of returning vast amounts of cargo to Earth. It is also the first private spacecraft to take humans to the ISS.

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The most notable mission Dragon completed is one of its most recent, as SpaceX brought NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth after being stranded at the ISS by a Boeing Starliner capsule.

SpaceX’s reluctance to participate in federally funded projects may put the government in a strange position. It will look to bring Boeing back in to take a majority of these projects, but there might be some reluctance based on the Starliner mishap with Wilmore and Williams.

SpaceX bails out Boeing and employees are reportedly ‘humiliated’

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Elon Musk

Tesla cites competitive harm in attempt to keep certain crash data private

Tesla wants some data to be kept from the public because competitors could use it for their own benefit.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is citing competitive harm as it is attempting to keep certain crash data private from the public in relation to a lawsuit against it and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from the Washington Post.

In a federal court filing seen by Reuters, Tesla said it wanted some of the crash information the Post was attempting to obtain to be kept confidential because it could be used by rivals to assess the company’s self-driving tech.

Tesla touts its self-driving suite as one of the most robust on the market, and those who have used it believe it to be one of the best around. However, accidents do happen, and while Tesla still has not reached full autonomy and tells drivers to continue paying attention to be prepared to take over, the company still seems to take a lot of the blame for them.

There are also some things that could be revealed about Tesla’s self-driving strategy if it were to release the data, the company says. The efficacy of each version of its FSD suite could allow competitors to calculate how many crashes occurred on each release.

Attorneys for the Washington Post said that Tesla’s versions of both software and hardware are not kept private from owners themselves, so the information should be made public.

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The NHTSA has been investigating accidents involving Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite since it opened an investigation last October.

The company is used to dealing with attempts to hinder the progress or capabilities of the FSD suite. When used correctly, it can be a widely beneficial suite that helps make driving less stressful, but Tesla has always been more than vocal that it cannot be used as a replacement for human drivers, at least not yet.

Currently, Tesla Full Self-Driving still requires owners to pay attention and be aware of road conditions, as they may have to take over unexpectedly.

Tesla is hoping to launch its Robotaxi platform in Austin next week on Thursday, as it has reportedly landed on June 12 as its launch date.

Tesla lands on date for Robotaxi launch in Austin: report

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However, media skepticism regarding the suite’s capabilities has conveniently started to ramp up as the Robotaxi platform launch nears.

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