Turkish president eyes cooperation with billionaire’s tech companies as Trump picks him to lead a government agency
Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with Elon Musk during a meeting in Ankara on 8 November 2017 (Adem Altan/AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that his government is open to collaborating with billionaire Elon Musk on technology-related projects.
On Tuesday, Musk, a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, was appointed to lead a new US government agency focused on regulating federal spending, called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Musk supported Trump during this election, but what matters to us is that he is a businessperson actively working in the fields of space and technology,” Erdogan told reporters accompanying him on a trip to Baku, Azerbaijan.
“Technology is not an area where you can advance on your own; partnerships are necessary. If opportunities for collaboration arise, we are open to working with Musk.”
Cordial relationship
Erdogan and Musk share a cordial relationship. Musk visited Erdogan last year in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where he introduced his son to the Turkish president.
During the meeting, Erdogan invited Musk to consider building a Tesla factory in Turkey, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency at the time.
The statement noted that Musk responded positively, acknowledging that many Turkish suppliers already collaborate with Tesla and that Turkey is among the leading candidates for Tesla’s next factory.
Turkey is already cooperating with Musk-owned companies. SpaceX, his aerospace company, successfully launched Turkey’s first domestically built communications satellite, Turksat 6A, on 8 July, sending it into geostationary orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
However, Ankara has so far blocked Musk’s internet service provider, Starlink, from operating in Turkey.
