Saudi Arabia enters talks with Tesla for potential manufacturing facility in kingdom

Saudi Arabia is engaged in preliminary discussions with the American electric vehicle manufacturer, Tesla, regarding the establishment of a manufacturing facility within the kingdom, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. 

This development coincides with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s request to Tesla CEO Elon Musk to consider the construction of a vehicle production plant in Turkey. Furthermore, Elon Musk is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in California today.

To incentivize Tesla, Saudi Arabia has been offering the company access to essential metals and minerals required for electric vehicle production, procured from various nations, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

This effort aligns with Saudi Arabia’s broader strategy to diversify its economy away from its dependence on oil. Notably, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund holds a majority stake in Lucid Group, an electric vehicle startup aiming to challenge Tesla’s market dominance.

One proposal being explored by Saudi Arabia involves extending financial support to Trafigura, a prominent commodities trading company, for a struggling cobalt and copper project in the Congo. 

This project could potentially serve as a source of crucial supplies for a prospective Tesla factory. Both Tesla and Trafigura have not yet provided responses to Reuters’ inquiries, while Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund, the Public Investment Fund, has declined to comment.

Elon Musk previously mentioned in May that Tesla was likely to select a location for a new factory by the end of the year. Presently, Tesla operates six factories worldwide and is in the process of constructing a seventh in Mexico as part of its ambitious global expansion strategy. 

The company’s goal is to achieve annual vehicle sales of 20 million units by 2030, a significant increase from the approximately 1.3 million vehicles sold in 2022.