Elon Musk discussed a possible Mongolia expansion with the country’s prime minister

Mongolia’s prime minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Monday discussed possible expansion and investments into the Asian country over a virtual meeting.

“They discussed the possibility of welcoming Tesla to Mongolia for its electric vehicles battery factory, leveraging the country’s wide availability of copper and rare earth elements, which are essential components of electric cars’ batteries,” according to a statement issued on behalf of the Mongolian government.

The East Asian country is rich in minerals and boasts large deposits of copper, gold and coal.

“The Mongolian Government is committed to cooperating with international organisations to help boost the development of new technologies and raise investment in the country,” the statement said.

A statement from the cabinet secretariat of Mongolia’s government added that the country’s prime minister emphasized his support for the use of electric cars and urged Mongolian citizens to use such vehicles.

Musk and Oyun-Erdene also spoke about bringing Starlink — a satellite communications terminals and services provider operated by the Musk-founded SpaceX — to Mongolia. Starlink was registered as a company in Mongolia in 2022 and is expected to launch regionally this year.

Musk’s meeting with the Mongolian leader comes after the tech giant last week met with Chinese vice premier Ding Xuexiang and other top officials in China, as Beijing looks to portray a friendly business environment for foreign companies amid tensions with the U.S.

The Tesla CEO complimented China’s technological advances and visited the Tesla gigafactory in Shanghai.