Picture: Muhammad Shammas / The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: The world’s most talked about electric cars, Tesla 3, Y, X and S, have arrived in town. Booking for the car has started through their website and Qatar is the third country in the region after UAE and Jordan to have the presence of one of the most sought after EV brands in the world.
A pop-up store will open today at the Doha Festival City and will offer users a chance to see the models and test drive the cars. An exclusive showroom is expected to be ready soon.
Open 7 days a week from 10am to 10pm, and until 11pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Tesla Festival City Pop-Up is located on the Ground Floor, Luxury Area.
“In the coming months, a permanent Tesla Store will open in Doha Festival City, alongside a service centre, where Tesla owners will have access to quick and seamless service for their car, through thoroughly trained Tesla Service Technicians. Tesla owners will also have access to the first Supercharger location in Qatar, at Doha Festival City. It will be followed by more Superchargers later this year,” Tesla officials said yesterday during a media interaction.
The delivery of the vehicles will start in the first quarter of this year and the service centre is expected to be ready by then. The Tesla officials said that they will also have a mobile service centre which will go to the customer to get the work done.
Tesla popup store at Doha Festival City
All Tesla models in Qatar come with their much-anticipated Autopilot included. It is not a fully autonomous vehicle yet as it must comply with local regulations, but the Level 2 automated system currently available in their vehicles is a game changer when it comes to driving. It was an exhilarating experience to let the car take you to your destination, of course under supervision, by holding the steering wheel lightly, on a moderately crowded road in Doha.
The Model S we drove applied the brakes at the right places and accelerated when needed, overall making it a very cautious and fun driving experience at the same time.
“Autopilot is an advanced driver assistance system that is classified as a Level 2 automated system for use only with a fully attentive driver with their hands on the wheel. This means Autopilot also helps with driver supervision. When used properly, Autopilot reduces a driver’s overall workload, and the eight external cameras provide an additional layer of safety that two eyes alone would not have,” Tesla officials explained.
Tesla offers 4 vehicles in Qatar – Model 3 is available from QR168,490 and offers up to 678 km of range, Model Y, midsize SUV, is available from QR188,490 and offers up to 565 km of range, Model S, premium sedan, is available from QR318,490 and offers up to 723 km of range and Model X, Premium SUV, is available from QR338,490 and offers up to 625 km of range.
