"Tesla Discusses Factory Construction with Saudi Arabia"...Turkiye Also Requests

Reports have emerged that Saudi Arabia is in talks to attract Tesla's electric vehicle manufacturing facilities to the country. Turkey is also confirmed to be fiercely competing to host Tesla factories, with President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an personally meeting Tesla CEO Elon Musk to request the construction of a plant.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 18th (local time), citing sources, that Saudi Arabia is discussing with Tesla the possibility of securing cobalt supply?a mineral essential for electric vehicle battery production?and attracting a factory to the country. However, sources added that the negotiations are in the early stages and could potentially fall through. WSJ also noted that Saudi Arabia has already established a partnership with Lucid, a competitor in the electric vehicle market, which could complicate the discussions further.

In June, Saudi Arabia contacted the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which accounts for about 70% of the world's cobalt supply, to secure minerals such as cobalt as part of its efforts to entice Tesla. Additionally, it is exploring ways to secure stable mineral supplies by funding Trafigura's cobalt and copper development projects in Congo, Trafigura being the world's largest raw materials trading intermediary.

A source explained, "This will ultimately help supply Tesla's production plant within Saudi Arabia." The strategy is to provide Tesla with the cobalt secured through this process if Tesla builds a manufacturing plant in the country.

WSJ evaluated that if these discussions come to fruition, it could also aid Tesla in achieving its goal of selling 20 million vehicles annually by 2030. Last year's sales were around 1.3 million units. CEO Musk previously stated that about 12 factories would be needed to meet Tesla's targets and that new factory locations would be finalized by the end of the year. Currently, Tesla operates six factories in the United States, China, Germany, and is constructing another in Mexico.

However, CEO Musk denied the report on X, formerly Twitter, calling it a "complete WSJ false report." WSJ added that Tesla did not respond to requests for comment before publishing the article.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

These reports demonstrate the considerable efforts countries are making to attract Tesla production plants. Major foreign media reported that Turkish President Erdo?an also requested the construction of a factory in Turkey during a meeting with CEO Musk at the Turkey House in New York on the 17th. Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk in person during his visit to the U.S. in June to discuss investment plans. India is also considering reducing tariffs on electric vehicle imports to as low as 15% for Tesla.

Meanwhile, on the New York Stock Exchange that day, Tesla's stock price was trading around $265 per share, down more than 3% from the previous session.