Elon Musk courted to build a Tesla factory in Turkey

Credit: Turkey Directorate of Communications | X

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in New York on Sunday. Reports say that the two discussed a range of topics, and Erdoğan apparently encouraged Musk to build Tesla’s next Gigafactory in Turkey.

The meeting took place at the Turkish House in New York City, as reported by the country’s Directorate of Communications on X on Sunday. The agency said that Erdoğan called for Tesla to establish its seventh factory in Turkey, along with discussions surrounding SpaceX and the country’s Digital Vision and National Artificial Intelligence Strategy initiatives.

Musk also brought his baby X Æ A-12 to the meeting, as can be seen from the photos and videos. According to @Dima Zeniuk, the meeting only lasted about 45 minutes.

 

Erdoğan also gifted Musk two books: UN Reform: A New Approach to International Cooperation, written by the Turkish Directorate of Communications, and A Fairer World is Possible, written by Erdoğan himself. The Turkish president is currently in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, which is set to begin on Tuesday.

Tesla began delivering its Model Y vehicles in Turkey in May, despite initially planning to launch all four vehicles in the country last year. The U.S. automaker also launched its first design studio and Supercharger stations in Turkey in April, seeming to indicate that the company’s vehicles would be launching in the country soon.

Currently, Tesla’s Model 3, Model S and Model X vehicles aren’t available in Turkey, and going to the country’s order configurator for these cars only lets users press a “Get Updates” button. These buttons are shown instead of the “Order Now” and “Test Drive” buttons that can be seen on Turkey’s Model Y order configurator.

Musk also offered help to Turkey with SpaceX’s Starlink internet earlier this year, after a deadly earthquake struck the country, leaving thousands of casualties. Starlink isn’t yet approved in Turkey, and a Turkish official subsequently denied the request, thanking Musk for the offer.

Update: Meeting location corrected to “The Turkish House.”

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

Zachary Visconti: Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently resides in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies for Teslarati, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking lots of coffee, or hanging out with his cat, Banks. Reach out to Zach at zach@teslarati.com, or you can find him on X @zacharyvisconti.
Related Post
Disqus Comments Loading...