Erdogan asks Musk to build Tesla factory in Turkey

@anadoluagency / Twitter

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in New York City, asking him to establish the carmaker's seventh factory in his country.

That's according to a statement by Turkish state-owned news agency Anadolu Agency on social media platform X on Sunday.

Erdogan is in the US to attend the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Tesla and the Turkish embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tesla in August expressed an interest in building a factory in India that would produce a low-cost electric vehicle (EV). Tesla currently has six factories and is building a seventh in Mexico in northern Nuevo Leon state, part of the electric carmaker's push to expand its global footprint.

Musk said in May that the automaker would probably pick a location for a new factory by the end of this year.

Tesla shares are up 123 per cent so far this year and the automaker on Saturday said it had produced its 5 millionth car.

In addition to running Tesla, Musk also bought X, formerly known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022.