The U.S. electric car manufacturer Tesla wants to enter the Turkish market while Türkiye’s aim is to attract investment from the electric vehicle (EV) giant, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said Wednesday.
Varank, who visited Silicon Valley at the beginning of the week as part of his visit to the United States, shared the details of the meetings held at Tesla's Fremont Factory.
Referring to Tesla's position in the world market, Varank said: "Tesla is one of the automobile brands of the future in the automotive industry. It is currently trying to expand its influence all over the world. It is one of the largest companies in China and is trying to be effective in the European market with its factory in Germany."
"It also wants to enter the Turkish market," he added.
"Tesla's activities regarding entering the Turkish market with its charging stations are underway. Actually, they were going to come to Türkiye before but the process took a little longer due to their own internal evaluations," the minister explained.
Varank emphasized that their aim is to attract Tesla's investment in technology in Türkiye, noting: "Türkiye has a very serious incentive system, especially in terms of investment and research and development."
"We say, come, take advantage of this and invest," the minister said.
"It is important for them to enter the market, but for us, their investment in technology and production is more important. We have submitted our proposals regarding these," Varank said, adding that currently the U.S. auto giant already has suppliers from Türkiye.
"It is important for us they use such an infrastructure. We will continue negotiations in the future."
The minister added that they invite global brands from all over the world to Türkiye.
"We invite all companies in different sectors, as well as in the automotive industry, to invest in Türkiye. After COVID-19, there has been a significant transformation in value chains in the world. We are experiencing a change. Western countries are in search of different suppliers. Türkiye is one of the most important alternatives."
Varank also underscored that Türkiye’s work with Tesla is not limited to the automotive industry, adding that Tesla CEO Elon Musk first came to Türkiye to market SpaceX rockets. He reiterated that Türkiye launched its satellites into space through SpaceX and that the country was one of SpaceX's first customers.
Varank, who was in the U.S. recently to attend the world's largest consumer electronics fair CES 2023, also visited Silicon Valley, where the heart of technology and innovation beats.
Varank visited Tesla's Fremont Factory, one of the largest production facilities in California, and received information about the cars developed by the company and the production model.
He held a meeting with company executives during his visit to the Tesla factory.
The minister also visited Google's headquarters and Stanford University's Canary Center for Early Cancer Detection.