Erdogan to Meet With Musk Ahead of UN General Assembly

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to host billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday to discuss cooperation on a range of subjects from space technology to electric-vehicle batteries.

(Bloomberg) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to host billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday to discuss cooperation on a range of subjects from space technology to electric-vehicle batteries.

Erdogan will see Musk at the newly built Turkish House, near the United Nations headquarters, where the General Assembly will meet this week.

Musk visited Erdogan in Ankara in 2017, a year after the president survived a coup attempt, and relations between the two have been developing since.

Musk’s SpaceX has been working with Turkey’s space program to launch communications satellites. Turkey is also seeking help to develop batteries for its first homegrown EV, the Togg.

The Turkish president, who extended his rule into a third decade after elections in May, regards the planned launch of the Turksat 6A satellite next June as a critical milestone for collecting intelligence that may be used for military purposes.

Erdogan has been encouraging development of a self-sufficient defense industry, including production of unmanned combat aircraft, to support Turkey’s military in a region mired with conflict.

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