By Burak Akinci
ANKARA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Elon Musk, founder of U.S. leading electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, met on Wednesday in Ankara with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the presidential complex.
Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the two sides discussed joint production of vehicles, sustainable energy, as well as the launch of Turkey's Turksat 5A and 5B satellites.
The meeting came as Erdogan recently announced a national project of producing first domestic automobiles.
Last week, Erdogan announced that a consortium of Anadolu Group, BMC, Kiraca Holding, Turkcell and Zorlu Holding would manufacture Turkey's first domestic car.
Harun Armagan, an official of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), also said on Twitter that the meeting was mainly about Turkish plan to build and commercialize an indigenous car.
Founded in 2003 and known for its specialization in electric cars, Tesla disrupted traditional auto industry by introducing high-tech and innovative products.
Ankara's plan includes an option for electric automobiles, which Musk can certainly help given his success of Tesla, said experts.
Producing a car with a national brand has been Turkey's long-habored dream since 1961, when a prototype named "Devrim" (Revolution) was built without putting to use.
For decades, Turks longed to build cars of its own brand, something that would boost the pride and the confidence of Turkish industry.
Turkey has been a significant producer and exporter of cars mainly targeting European market. The sizable automobile sector accounts for an important proportion of Turkey's economy.
Several international brands like Toyota, Fiat and Renault have plants in the industrialized north-western cities of Turkey with tens of thousands of employees.
But all cars made in Turkey, some 1.5 million last year, are either licensed products or based on western products. Around 75 percent of the products are finally exported.
Erdogan insisted that Turkey should have its own car brand to showcase the country's economic capacity and its global competitiveness, especially that Turkey has invested much to develop its technology in recent years.
The first production of a domestic car was slated for 2016 but funding difficulties and the reluctance from national automobile firms to get involved delayed the project.
"We do not want any more delays in this project and we will not tolerate any loss of time," said the Turkish president last week, adding that he will be the first buyer of the home-built vehicle.
