News

Tesla Brings Cybertruck To Qatar In Latest Regional Push

The move comes after slowing demand in the U.S. and China, and the Gulf states continued push to roll out broader decarbonization plans.

Published

11 months ago

October 6, 2025

Joanna Melki

Tesla

Qatar joins Saudi Arabia and the UAE as the first markets outside North America to get the angular, futuristic pickup. Orders are open through Tesla’s website, with local Supercharger points, pop-up showrooms, and service centers set to support early buyers.

Deliveries are due in March 2026. Prices start at QAR 384,990 (about $105,750) for the All-Wheel Drive model and QAR 434,990 (about $119,000) for the higher-performance Cyberbeast.

The move comes as Tesla looks beyond slowing demand in the U.S. and China. Gulf states are building out charging networks and courting global EV brands as part of broader decarbonization plans. “The Middle East is becoming a critical test bed for premium electric mobility,” said one regional analyst.

Tesla’s regional buildup has been steady. The Cybertruck launch in Saudi Arabia earlier this year also marked a quiet reset with the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund after years of strained ties. The company has since expanded its Supercharger coverage across Riyadh, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, giving the region one of Tesla’s densest charging networks outside Europe.

Also Read: Abu Dhabi Sets 2027 Target For AI-Run Government

Globally, Tesla has built more than 46,000 Cybertruck vehicles since late 2023. The company posted record deliveries in Q3 2025, largely driven by U.S. buyers racing to secure vehicles before the federal EV tax credit expired in September. Analysts expect overseas demand to help offset a likely dip in U.S. sales as that incentive winds down and competition from BYD, Zeekr, and Lucid intensifies.

For the Gulf, Qatar’s addition strengthens Tesla’s hold in a region intent on electrifying transport under Vision 2030 and similar national drives. With governments investing in battery assembly and EV workforce training, the Cybertruck’s arrival signals a tougher, more competitive phase for the Middle East’s high-end EV market.

News

Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

Egypt’s telecom regulator says $57.6 billion moved through more than 57 million wallets in six months. And one operator handled 77% of the value.

Published

4 days ago

September 12, 2026

Nour Nasir

egypt's mobile wallets are booming but cash still has power

Egypt’s mobile wallets handled EGP 2.96 trillion ($57.6 billion) in transactions in the first half of 2026, according to the National Telecom Regulatory Authority – a 56% rise on the EGP 1.90 trillion ($36.9 billion) recorded a year earlier. Transactions grew faster still, up 62% to 2.22 billion, while registered wallets climbed 23% to 57.01 million.

On one reading, that is exactly what Egypt’s regulators have been pushing for: a payments system that runs through telecom-linked wallets rather than banknotes. But the same data shows how far cash still reaches into it. Cash withdrawals made up just 12% of the transactions taking money out of wallets, yet 75% of the value withdrawn or spent.

Money arrives mostly from bank accounts: transfers through InstaPay accounted for 78% of deposit transactions and 58% of the value deposited, while incoming remittances from abroad made up 3% of deposit transactions but 10% of their value. Once inside, it largely moves between wallets – wallet-to-wallet transfers accounted for 54% of all transactions and 67% of total value, with mobile and internet top-ups a distant second at 25% of volume. In effect, the wallet is serving as a transfer layer: the place money passes through between the bank account and the banknote.

That layer also runs predominantly through one operator. Vodafone Cash held 53% of registered wallets and 57% of active ones, but handled 69% of transactions and 77% of their value. Its nearest rival, e& money, held 23% of registered wallets but 14% of transaction value; Orange Cash 20% and 8%; WE Pay 4% of wallets. How many of the 57.01 million are active is not stated.

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Adoption is rather uneven in other respects. Men held 38 million wallets, or 67% of the total, against 19 million held by women. Users aged 26 to 45 accounted for half of all wallets, and Cairo alone had 10.6 million, or 19% of the national total, with Giza next at 6.5 million.

The NTRA says it is continuing to work with telecom operators on the regulatory framework for wallet services, part of a wider effort to expand electronic payments and financial inclusion. Its own figures show that effort succeeding on the way in. On the way out, three-quarters of the value still leaves as cash.