Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has put forward a proposal to Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build a Tesla factory in Turkey. Erdogan made this offer during a meeting at Turkish House, a skyscraper next to the United Nations in New York. A report with this information was published by the Turkish news agency on social media platform X on Sunday.
Erdogan was on a visit to the US to attend the 78th session of the UN General Assembly. However, Tesla and the Turkish embassy in Washington did not immediately comment to news agencies on the request.
Erdogan’s office said they wanted to bring the Starlink service to the country. Turkey is also seeking help to develop batteries for its first homegrown electric vehicle, the Togg.
Musk had a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in California on Monday. The meeting discussed artificial intelligence technology. Tesla expressed an interest in building a factory in India that would produce a low-cost electric vehicle (EV).
Tesla has six factories. A seventh factory is currently under construction in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, part of the automaker’s efforts to expand its global footprint. Musk noted in spring that he would choose a location for the new plant by the end of this year.
Tesla stock has been on an upswing this year, with a total increase of 123%. The company announced that the five millionth vehicle had been produced on Saturday. Musk acquired Company X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022.
Musk has in some cases complied with Turkish government demands to censor content in the country, despite the fact that he called himself an advocate of absolute freedom of speech.
