Electric vehicle company Tesla already operates six massive “gigafactories” around the world, with four locations in the U.S. The remaining two are located in Germany and China.
As CEO Elon Musk moves forward with plans for a seventh factory, he appears to be in talks with a number of foreign leaders about its location. He indicated in May that he would decide on a location by the end of this year.
This project would be in addition to the factory already slated to be built in Mexico, he explained at the time.
“Well, we did make an announcement that Mexico would be our next location outside the U.S., we picked a site and everything, so there’s that,” Musk explained. “And then, we’ll probably pick another location toward the end of this year.”
Elon Musk on which is the most exciting country to build a @Tesla factory now: "We'll probably pick another location towards the end of this year."
On asked if India is interesting, Elon responded: "Absolutely" pic.twitter.com/OwINE5laSv
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) May 23, 2023
During the same interview, he affirmed that India was in the running for the next location. He met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York City earlier this year to discuss the possibility.
Musk had also reportedly had a prior meeting with French President Emanuel Macron.
Since then, Musk has continued meeting with international leaders. Most recently, he sat down with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in New York, reportedly to discuss the possibility of opening a factory in that nation.
A state-owned media report confirmed the meeting on Sunday, noting that Tesla vehicles are already on the road in Turkey and Erdogan used the opportunity to tout the perceived benefits of opening a factory there.
To further sweeten the deal, the Turkish president also reportedly offered a partnership between Musk’s SpaceX private space exploration company and Turkey’s space agency.
Musk seems to be seriously considering the option, reportedly stating that Turkey “is among the most important candidates” currently being considered.
Another possibility is Saudi Arabia, where discussions are said to be in the “very early stage” but “could fall apart” since the nation is already invested in Lucid Group, another electric vehicle company.
Musk was scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, but it was unclear whether the artificial intelligence-related meeting would include any conversation about the forthcoming factory.
