President Erdogan invites Elon Musk to establish a Tesla factory in Türkiye

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in New York, 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, 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.

Reminding 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 Izmir," 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.

Erdogan presents Elon Musk two books

After the meeting, Musk is seen with two books, "A Fairer World is Possible" and "UN Reform: A New Approach to International Cooperation" that Erdogan presented to him.

Across global platforms, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been long known for his emphasis on global justice with his famous connotation “The World is bigger than five”.

The book is titled, A Fairer World is Possible, a testimony to Erdogan’s determination to seek global justice for oppressed people.

Erdogan thinks that the current structure of the UN Security Council is one of the main reasons for existing injustices around the world.

The five permanent members are countries from Asia, Europe and the Americas, but there is no representation for African interests, Erdogan writes.

The second book is "UN Reform: A New Approach to International Cooperation" which explains the rationale behind Ankara's initiative to reform the UN and its Security Council.

The book, published both in Turkish and English, explains how the UN and the Security Council, which were established after World War II, have been insufficient in producing solutions to today's problems.

The book consists of three parts: "Why Should a UN Reform Be Made?" "The Importance of the United Nations in the Field of International Peace, Peacekeeping and Humanity's Problems," and "UN Reform Rationales and Recommendations.