Istanbul | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Elon Musk, the head of electric carmaker Tesla, to establish a factory in Turkiye during a meeting in New York, Erdogan's office said on Monday.

Erdogan, who is in the US to attend the UN General Assembly, also discussed potential cooperation between Musk's space exploration firm SpaceX and Turkiye's space programme, the Turkish president's office said.

The statement said Erdogan told Musk that Turkiye would welcome cooperation on artificial intelligence and Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service. Musk said SpaceX wanted to secure the necessary license to offer Starlink in Turkiye.

Images of the meeting showed Musk holding one of his sons as he talked to Erdogan.

Turkish Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir, who attended the meeting, said Musk described Turkiye as “among the most important candidates for Tesla investment”.

He added that Musk and Erdogan also discussed Turkiye's armed aerial drone programme.