Tesla is bringing its electric cars to the heart of the oil producing world.
The automaker announced on Monday that its first official Middle East venture will be in the United Arab Emirates.
The first cars, the Model S and Model X, will hit the road this summer.
“The timing seems to be right to really make a meaningful debut in this region starting with Dubai”, You’re here (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said at the Global Government Summit in Dubai.
Tesla owners will have access to two existing supercharger stations in the United Arab Emirates, and Telsa plans to open five more by the end of the year.
Despite having huge reserves of oil and gas, the UAE has ambitious plans to go green. Last month, he announced he would invest $ 163 billion to boost the use of alternative energy over the next three decades.
Related: Tesla Reveals What It Will Charge For A Charge
This is the latest in a series of expansion announcements for Tesla. Last week, Musk hinted that Tesla could come to India soon.
Musk also has teased plans to build “heavy trucks and high passenger density urban transport” as well as developing a carpooling network, which could be similar to Uber.
Speaking in Dubai, the entrepreneur explained the future of robotics.
“We will see autonomy and artificial intelligence advance tremendously,” said Musk. “Probably 10 years from now it will be very unusual to build cars that are not fully autonomous.”
Related: Elon Musk’s Surprising Secret Weapon: Trump?
But he also warned against the “disruptive” nature of autonomous vehicles.
“This disruption I’m talking about will take place over about 20 years. Yet 20 years is a short period of time for about 12% to 15% of the workforce to be unemployed.”
Musk said governments need to pay close attention to artificial intelligence, create sustainable transportation, and beware of mass unemployment.
“It will be a huge social challenge. At the end of the day, we have to think about universal basic income. I don’t think we have a choice,” he said. “There will be fewer and fewer tasks that a robot can’t do better.”
– Seth Fiegerman contributed reporting.
CNNMoney (Dubai) First published on February 13, 2017: 11:06 a.m.ET
