Turkey enters the dance against France

Elon Musk visited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York, spending 45 minutes discussing artificial intelligence and a potential Tesla factory.

As Tesla’s industrial expansion continues to make headlines, with a factory confirmed in Mexico and another possibly in France, a new player wants to join the party: Turkey. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan made his intention clear during a recent visit to the United States.

Erdogan’s invitation

During his trip to the United States to attend the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Erdogan took the opportunity to speak with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. His message was simple and direct: Turkey wants to host a Gigafactory.

Cumhurbaşkanımız @RTErdoganTesla ve SpaceX şirketlerinin kurucusu Elon Musk’ı New York’taki Türkevi’nde kabul etti. pic.twitter.com/uQWSrFsCXt

— TC Cumhurbaşkanlığı (@tcbestepe) September 17, 2023

Elon Musk did not leave this proposal unanswered. He mentioned that many Turkish suppliers are already collaborating with Tesla, highlighting the pre-existing business relationships between Turkey and the American company. This current cooperation, combined with Erdogan’s invitation, places Turkey among the serious contenders to host Tesla’s next factory.

Turkey’s electricity ambitions

It’s not just a factory. Turkey has broader ambitions in the field of electric cars. Indeed, the country aspires to develop batteries for its very first electric vehicle, named the Togg.

But Turkey’s ambitions do not stop there. At the same meeting, Erdogan also expressed interest in cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and the Starlink project. As a reminder, Starlink is the initiative of SpaceX (another company led by Musk) which aims to provide global Internet access through satellites.