Washington, United States – Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has publicly denied recent claims by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the electric vehicle (EV) giant was in preliminary discussions with Saudi Arabia about establishing an EV factory in the Kingdom.
In a post on platform X, Musk labeled the WSJ’s article as “utterly false,” although he refrained from providing further details on the matter.
The WSJ’s report, released on Monday, cited anonymous sources stating that while talks between Tesla and Saudi Arabia were in their infancy, the outcome remained uncertain. The report highlighted potential roadblocks, including Musk’s reportedly strained relationship with the Saudis and the presence of Lucid Motors, a Tesla competitor, which is predominantly owned by the Saudi government.
In related development, there were reports that Musk had a meeting with Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York City to discuss the possibility of a Tesla factory in Turkey. This claim was later confirmed by the Turkish state news agency, Anadolu, which released photos from the meeting.
Earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron had said that he had spoken with Musk about the attractiveness of France for investment and its significant progress in terms of electric vehicles and energy.
Tesla seeks to achieve 20 million car sales annually by 2030. To realize this target, the company would need to double its current number of factories, which stands at six. Musk’s statement in August last year about this expansion led to widespread speculation regarding the locations of the upcoming facilities.
Presently, Tesla operates four factories in the US, with additional facilities in Germany and China. Earlier in the year, Tesla initiated discussions with the Indian government about establishing a factory in the region. However, previous plans to expand into India were halted when the Indian government declined to reduce import taxes on vehicles, some of which can be as high as 100%. The Indian government’s stance aimed to encourage Tesla to produce vehicles locally rather than importing them, which would significantly increase the cost for Indian consumers.