Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has formally requested Tesla CEO Elon Musk to consider building a Tesla manufacturing facility in Turkey, according to Turkey’s communications directorate.
The request was made during a meeting at Turkish House, a skyscraper near the United Nations in New York. Erdogan is in the U.S. to attend the 78th session of the U.N. General Assembly, reports Reuters.
Musk indicated that Turkey is among the key candidates for Tesla’s next factory, citing existing collaborations with many Turkish suppliers. Back in April of this year, Tesla launched the Model Y in Turkey.
During the meeting, Erdogan also expressed Turkey’s willingness to collaborate on artificial intelligence and Starlink, Musk’s satellite internet venture under SpaceX. Musk stated that SpaceX is interested in working with Turkish authorities to secure the necessary licenses to offer Starlink services in Turkey.
Erdogan extended an invitation to Musk to attend the Turkish aerospace and technology festival, Teknofest, in Izmir at the end of September. Musk accepted the invitation and expressed his intent to attend.
The Tesla CEO is also scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in California, with discussions expected to focus on artificial intelligence technology. This comes after Tesla expressed interest in August to build a factory in India for low-cost electric vehicles.
Tesla currently operates six factories and is in the process of constructing a seventh in Mexico. Musk previously stated that the company would likely select a location for a new factory by the end of this year.
Just this morning, Musk shared that he would be discussing AI with Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, on X.
Artificial intelligence discussion with PM Netanyahu in an hour https://t.co/VLUCCzmyHZ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 18, 2023
