The general manager of the American electric car manufacturer Tesla, Elon Musk, met with the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who urged Musk to build the next Tesla factory in Turkey, Reuters and Agerpres reported.

Elon Musk in a Tesla carPhoto: MEGA / Mega Agency / Profimedia

The meeting took place on Sunday at the Turkish House, a skyscraper located near the UN headquarters in New York, Anadolu news agency reported. On the occasion of the meeting, Erdogan also said that Turkey is open to cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence and Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite communications network, which is also owned by Musk. The latter said that SpaceX wants to cooperate with the Turkish authorities to obtain the necessary permits to provide Starlink satellite communication services in Turkey.

Tesla currently has six factories and is building a seventh in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon as part of a plan to expand its global operations. Musk announced in May that Tesla would likely choose a site for a new factory by the end of the year, and last month Tesla expressed interest in building a low-cost electric car plant in India.

Tesla shares are up 123% since the beginning of the year, and the other day the company announced that it produced its five millionth car.