Dubai’s Uber to roll out Tesla cars on Tuesday

Dubai: You won’t have to wait long to ride in the new Tesla car, as Uber has confirmed that it will be introducing the stylish electric vehicle in two days — on Tuesday.

Uber, in cooperation with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai, will offer residents the opportunity to book an all-electric car as of October 10.

Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group, is pictured with Pierre Dimitri Gore-Coty, head of Uber's operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Customers can access the service simply by downloading the ride-hailing Uber app, and selecting the UberOne option.

Customers will then be able to choose between the Model S or Model X, with a fee that is expected to start at a base fare Dh10 and charge Dh1.9 ($0.50) per kilometre – similar to UberBlack.  

“We are tremendously excited to be the exclusive ride-hailing partner for this fleet of premium electric vehicles in Dubai, in partnership with Dubai Taxi Corporation, and for the clean vehicle technology to deliver out driver-partners and riders with more efficient, less-polluting mobility,” said Chris Free, general manager for Uber UAE.

Dubai is one of the few cities today that offer taxi services using the super-stylish, fast and long-range EVs.

Not only do they offer driver-partners and riders a high-quality travel experience, but electric cars also reduce air and noise pollution in local communities, and have much lower per-mile operating costs compared to conventional cars, say officials.

Last September, the RTA announced that it added the first batch of 50 Tesla cars to its Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC) fleet.

The introduction of electric vehicles comes as part of Dubai’s Smart Autonomous Mobility Strategy aimed at transforming 25 per cent of total journeys in Dubai into autonomous journeys by 2030, and turning Dubai into the smartest city in mobility worldwide by 2020.