Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build a Tesla factory in Turkey, reports Reuters and refers to statements by the Turkish Communications Directorate.
Musk also appears to have said that Tesla is already working with many Turkish suppliers and that Turkey is emerging as one of the most important candidates for the electric car maker’s next factory. Additionally, the parties reportedly discussed cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and Musk’s Starlink technology.
Erdogan and Musk met at Turkish House, a building near the United Nations in New York, according to Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency. Erdogan is in the United States as part of the 78th UN General Assembly, where heads of state and government from around the world are meeting this week.
According to Reuters, Musk will also meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in California. This meeting would be about AI technology.
Tesla currently has six factories, with a seventh under construction in Mexico. Elon Musk reportedly signaled that the choice of location for a new factory would occur by the end of the year. According to the news agency, Tesla expressed interest in building a factory in India earlier this year.
On Saturday, Tesla announced that the company had produced its 5 millionth electric car.
