After repeated delays, American car company Tesla announced Tuesday that it will finally begin selling its electric vehicles in Israel.
Israelis can now order online for cars that the company says will be delivered as early as March 2021, with a non-refundable one-time charge of NIS 500.
Tesla says it will initially open just one repair shop in Israel, which will be in industrial park in the central city of Petah Tikva.
Sales will also be limited to the center of the country with a showroom set to open in the northern Tel Aviv neighborhood of Ramat Aviv. The showroom is not expected to open however until the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
Israelis will be able to buy three Tesla electric car models: the Model 3, Model S and Model X.
The company will offer its vehicles at relatively low prices, following the recent fall of the U.S. dollar in international currency markets. This makes the cars affordable for many Israeli households and competitive with other vehicles sold in the country.
Even so, the price of the cars will rise as specifications are added, including exterior color and advanced autonomic capabilities.
The Tesla website lists autonomic breaks and self-driving and autonomic parking capabilities as extras costing more than NIS 30,000 (approx. $9,000), although these features have not yet received the permits to be sold in Israel.
The prices quoted for the new cars also do not include the home battery charging station that is included in the purchase price for other electric cars sold in Israel.
The price of the stations has not been announced, although a basic charging post is estimated to cost around NIS 5,000. Tesla says it will soon be offering a solar charging station that will reduce costs.
The new cars will come with a Tesla guarantee for four years or 80,000 kilometers and batteries will come with an eight-year guarantee or 192,000 kilometers.
The company also said it will install charging stations in Tel Aviv in the center, Haifa in the north and Be'er Sheva in the south.