‎“Tesla” in preliminary discussions to establish E-car factory in ‎the Kingdom

Informed sources revealed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in talks with the American electric car manufacturer Tesla about establishing an automobile factory in the Kingdom, as part of an ambitious campaign by Saudi Arabia to secure the minerals necessary for electric cars and help diversify its economy away from oil.

Saudi officials said, according to the Wall Street Journal, that the talks with Tesla, conducted by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, began this summer, and are at a very early stage. Saudi officials noted that the American electric car maker has expressed interest in talks, but the company can still reject the proposal.

For its part, the Wall Street Journal considered that the success of the deal with the Saudis could help Tesla achieve its aspirations to sell 20 million cars annually by 2030, up from about 1.3 million in 2022.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the electric car maker needs approximately ten factories to achieve its own goal, and could announce the establishment of another factory by the end of the year. The company currently manufactures electric cars in the United States, China and Germany, and plans to do so in Mexico.