Erdogan asks Elon Musk to build a Tesla factory in Turkey. Turkey’s communications directorate revealed on Monday that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build a factory in the country.
According to the directorate, Musk stated that Turkey was one of the top contenders for its upcoming factory and that Tesla currently works with several Turkish suppliers.
However, Tesla has yet to comment on the possibility of establishing a factory in Turkey.
According to Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, Erdogan and Musk met at Turkish House, a skyscraper near the UN in New York, during the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.
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As Erdogan asks Elon Musk to build Tesla factory in Turkey, according to the communications directorate, Erdogan also stated during the meeting that Turkey is ready to collaborate on both AI and Starlink, Musk’s space agency’s satellite internet project.
Reuters reported that while discussing SpaceX and Starlink, the tech billionaire expressed his desire to work with Turkish authorities to get the required licence for providing Starlink satellite services in Turkey.
Furthermore, the 69-year-old president invited Musk to the Turkish aerospace and technology festival Teknofest in Izmir at the end of September, to which the 52-year-old tech titan expressed interest.
Musk is also scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in California, where they will discuss AI technology.
As part of its global expansion strategy, Tesla recently announced plans to build a low-cost electric vehicle factory in India, in addition to six existing factories in Mexico and a seventh in northern Nuevo Leon state.
Musk predicted in May that Tesla would likely select a location for a new facility before the end of the year.
On Saturday, the automaker also announced that it had produced its 5 millionth vehicle, sending its stock up 123% so far this year.
In addition to controlling Tesla, Musk purchased X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022.
Musk, who describes himself as an “absolutist” of free speech, has agreed to some Turkish government requests to limit some of the country’s online content on the social media platform.
Otherwise, the social networking company has previously objected to Turkish court decisions.
