Elon Musk says Saudi Arabia Tesla factory reports 'utterly false'

Elon Musk has dismissed reports that his company Tesla was in discussion with Saudi Arabia to open a factory in the country, branding the reports "utterly false".

Citing 'people familiar with the discussions', the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Tesla was in early talks with Saudi officials to set up a manufacturing plant in the Gulf kingdom.

Musk took the social media platform he owns -X, formerly Twitter, to rubbish the report.

"Yet another utterly false article from WSJ," Musk said Monday in a tweet that included a screenshot of the report's headline.

Saudi Arabia is pushing hard to diversify its economy and make it less oil dependent, signing deals with foreign car companies to collaborate on development.

Riyadh has faced some resistance from potential international business partners, partly due to its poor human rights record.

X has been accused of aiding the Saudi government in its crackdown on opponents, including by allowing Saudi government spies to infiltrate the platform and pass on insider information used to identify and punish government critics.

The report came hours after Musk met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the two discussing setting up a Tesla car factory in Turkey.