Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reportedly asked Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, to consider building a Tesla factory in Turkey. The request was made during a meeting between Erdogan and Musk at Turkish House in New York, near the United Nations headquarters. Erdogan is in the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
While Tesla and the Turkish embassy have not yet responded to requests for comment, this request comes after Tesla expressed interest in building a factory in India to produce affordable electric vehicles. Currently, Tesla has six factories and is constructing a seventh factory in Mexico, as part of its global expansion plans.
Elon Musk, in addition to leading Tesla, recently purchased X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022. Musk has described himself as a free speech absolutist but has also complied with certain requests from the Turkish government to censor content in the country.
Musk’s upcoming meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will focus on artificial intelligence technology. With Tesla’s continued growth and success, the automaker expects to select a location for a new factory by the end of this year.
Sources:
- Anadolu Agency
- Reuters news agency