Turkey’s President requests Tesla to open a factory in Turkey

On Monday, the Turkey communications department announced that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan requested Elon Musk to open the next Tesla factory in Turkey.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, was requested to develop a Tesla factory in Turkey by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the nation's communications department announced on Monday.

It quoted Musk as adding that Turkey was among the top contenders for its upcoming factory and that several Turkish suppliers currently deal with Tesla.

According to the state-run Anadolu news agency in Turkey, Erdogan and Musk were conversing at a conference at Turkish House, a skyscraper close to the United Nations in New York.

The 78th U.N. General Assembly is being held in the United States, and Erdogan is there to attend.

According to the communications directorate, Erdogan also stated during the meeting that Turkey was ready to collaborate on artificial intelligence and Starlink, Musk's SpaceX satellite internet project.

Erdogan reportedly invited Musk to the Teknofest aerospace and technology festival in Izmir at the end of September, and Musk was quoted as saying he would be happy to go.

Tesla would probably choose a location for a new facility before the end of this year, Musk predicted in May.

Musk, who calls himself an "absolutist" of free speech, has acceded to some requests from the Turkish government to restrict some of the country's online content. The social networking company has already objected to Turkish court decisions in other instances.