Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated rumors that Saudi Arabia is in early talks with the U.S. electrical automaker to arrange a producing facility within the kingdom are “completely false,” referring to a narrative the Wall Avenue Journal reported on Monday, citing sources aware of the matter.
The report was launched simply hours after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan requested Musk to construct a automobile manufacturing facility in Turkey, in line with the nation’s communications directorate.
Musk additionally met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in California on Monday.
One more completely false article from WSJ pic.twitter.com/sisFcxYKxI
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
September 18, 2023
He denied the report on a put up on X social media platform, whereas Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund, the Public Funding Fund, declined to remark.
Saudi Arabia has been wooing Tesla with the correct to buy sure portions of metals and minerals the corporate wants for its electrical autos from nations, together with the Democratic Republic of Congo, the report stated.
The dominion has been attempting to shift its economic system away from oil, whereas its sovereign wealth fund is almost all investor in Lucid Group, one of many EV startups trying to problem Tesla’s dominance of the trade.
One of many proposals the dominion is contemplating entails extending financing to commodities dealer Trafigura for a flailing Congo cobalt and copper venture, which might assist present a Tesla manufacturing facility with provides, the WSJ report stated.
A Trafigura spokesperson stated the dealer was reviewing its choices for the Mutoshi venture in Congo amid rising prices and persistently low cobalt costs.
Musk stated in Might Tesla would most likely choose a location for a brand new manufacturing facility by the top of 2023. It presently has six factories and is constructing a seventh in Mexico in northern Nuevo Leon state.
Tesla has a purpose to promote 20 million autos a 12 months by 2030, up from round 1.3 million in 2022.
