President Erdogan meets Elon Musk in New York, invites him to Türkiye

NEW YORK

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in New York City on Sunday, inviting him to Türkiye and asking him to establish Tesla's seventh factory there.

During the meeting, which took place at the Turkish House (also called Turkevi Center) in Manhattan, President Erdogan informed Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, about "Türkiye's technological breakthroughs as well as the ‘Digital Türkiye’ vision and the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy," Türkiye's Communications Directorate said in a statement.

Recalling that with the Turkish electric car Togg hitting the roads in Türkiye, Tesla entered the Turkish market, Erdogan called on Tesla to establish its seventh factory in Türkiye, said the statement.

"President Erdogan stated that opportunities for collaboration with SpaceX may arise through the steps taken and to be taken as part of Türkiye's space program and invited Musk to Teknofest to be held in İzmir," it added.

According to the statement from the Turkish Communications Directorate, Musk in return said that many Turkish suppliers are already working with Tesla and that Türkiye is among the most important candidates for the next factory.

In response to President Erdogan's offer of cooperation with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service as well as in artificial intelligence, Musk said they wish to work with Turkish authorities to obtain the necessary license to offer Starlink satellite services in Türkiye, the statement said.

During the meeting, Erdogan also mentioned Türkiye's success in producing Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), while Musk responded by saying that he was aware of the world's interest in Bayraktar drones, the statement added.