Towing an Electric Car in Saudi Arabia: Tesla, Lucid and BYD

The rule that matters

An electric car must be carried on a flatbed with all four wheels off the road. Its motors are geared directly to the wheels, so rolling the car turns the motors, and turning the motors generates current into a system that is not expecting it. Every manufacturer, Tesla and Lucid included, prohibits flat towing. A wheel-lift truck that leaves one axle on the road is not acceptable for an EV.

Transport mode

Most EVs park with the motors locked, so they cannot be winched until the car is put into a transport or tow mode. On a Tesla this lives in the service menu on the screen and needs the car awake. On a Lucid and most others there is an equivalent setting. If the car has no power at all, the driver will use skates or a dolly under the locked wheels rather than dragging it.

• Put the car in transport mode before the truck arrives if you still have screen power
• Tell the dispatcher the make, model and whether the car has any charge left
• Say if the car is in a basement, since a discharged EV cannot drive itself out

After a collision or a flood

A damaged high-voltage battery is a fire risk that can start hours later. If you smell something sharp and chemical, see smoke, or hear popping or hissing from under the car, get everyone well clear and call 911. Tell the tow dispatcher it is an EV with battery damage, because the car should be kept away from buildings and other vehicles after delivery rather than parked in a closed workshop.

Where the car should go

Not every workshop can touch a high-voltage system. Send an EV to the manufacturer's service centre or an approved specialist. Riyadh has authorised centres for the main brands; ask before booking, because a tow to a workshop that then refuses the car means paying twice.

What it costs

The same as any flatbed job, because it is the same truck. Towing inside Riyadh starts from SAR 150. What changes the price is distance, vehicle weight, and whether the car can be winched or needs skates. An EV is heavier than it looks: many are 300 to 600 kg heavier than a petrol car of the same size, which matters when picking the truck.