Erdoğan asks Elon Musk to build Tesla factory in Turkey

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked tech billionaire Elon Musk to build a Tesla electric vehicle factory in Turkey, according to Erdoğan’s office.

During their meeting in New York, Erdoğan talked about Turkey’s “breakthroughs” in technology and invited Musk to Teknofest, the aerospace and technology festival that will take place in Izmir later this month.

Erdoğan also touted future cooperation on artificial intelligence and between Turkey’s space program and Musk’s SpaceX.

Turkish state media Anadolu Agency cited Musk as saying that many Turkish suppliers are already working with Tesla and that Turkey is among the top candidates for its next factory. Musk also reportedly said he wished to work with Turkish authorities to obtain the necessary license to offer Starlink satellite services in Turkey.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Tesla currently has six gigafactories — four in the United States, one in China and one in Germany. It plans to build its seventh factory in Mexico.

Erdoğan is not the first world leader to court the Tesla CEO. France, Spain and Italy have all expressed interest in having a Tesla factory on their territory.

Earlier this year, Musk said he planned to pick the location for Tesla’s new factory by the end of 2023, and later showed interest in India as a potential building site.