Tesla Model S review: the flagship EV Bahrain has to import itself
4.2/5motorssouq Editorial Team
The Dual Motor Long Range is the one to buy, not the Plaid — the extra straight-line speed is unusable on Bahrain's roads and the standard car's range and ride comfort matter far more day to day. Software updates arrive over the air with no dealer visit required, which partly compensates for having no dealer at all. Budget for grey-market import costs and accept that any major repair means a trip to a UAE service centre.
Pros
- 670 hp Dual Motor Long Range and a genuinely comfortable ride, not just a fast one
- Over-the-air software updates keep improving the car without a dealer visit
- Battery thermal management copes well with 45°C summers without heavy charging-speed taper
- Best charging network in the region once across the causeway into the UAE or Saudi Arabia
Cons
- No official Tesla store, service centre or Supercharger network in Bahrain itself
- Every car here is a grey-market or private import — bodywork and insurance claims are harder to resolve
- Plaid's performance is wasted on Bahrain's speed-bumped, radar-enforced roads
- Public Type 2 charging in Bahrain is still limited
The 2021 refresh of the Model S — a new yoke-optional steering wheel, a completely redone interior, and the addition of the 1,020 hp Plaid tri-motor flagship — kept Tesla's original car at the top of the luxury EV class a decade after it first went on sale. It remains the car other manufacturers still benchmark for range, charging speed and over-the-air software.
The Dual Motor Long Range is the version that actually makes sense to own: 670 hp is comfortably enough for any road in Bahrain, the ride is genuinely comfortable rather than sporty-firm, and the range means a return trip to Riyadh across the causeway is realistic on a single charge with margin left over. Tesla's Autopilot features keep improving through software updates that arrive without a service visit — a real advantage in a market with no service centre nearby.
Buying a Tesla in Bahrain
There is no Tesla store in Bahrain. The nearest official showrooms and service centres are in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and most Model S cars on Bahraini roads arrived through grey-market importers re-exporting from Dubai, or as private personal imports from the US or China. That gap matters less for software than it would for a conventional car — over-the-air updates keep the car current without a dealer — but it matters a great deal for bodywork, insurance write-off assessments and anything involving the high-voltage battery.
Tesla's Supercharger network reaches across the UAE and into Saudi Arabia, but Bahrain itself has essentially none, so daily charging comes down to a home wallbox for anyone with a villa and dedicated parking, or a slower public Type 2 charger for anyone without one. The battery's thermal management copes well with a 45°C summer without the aggressive charging-speed taper some rivals show, which is one of the genuine reasons Tesla remains the default choice for Gulf EV buyers despite the lack of local support.
Who should buy one
Buy the Dual Motor Long Range if you want the most capable EV available to a Bahraini buyer and are comfortable sourcing it and its service through the UAE. Skip the Plaid — its extra performance is wasted here — and skip the whole car if you need dealer-network peace of mind more than you want the technology.