Tesla could have a plant in Russia in the future, said Elon Musk, the head of the American electric car manufacturer, today. He said this at a virtual conference organized for Russian students by the Kremlin. Musk spoke at the invitation of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
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“I think we are close to Tesla’s presence in Russia, which I think will be great,” said Musk, who is sometimes described by the media as an eccentric billionaire. “Over time, we want races in other parts of the world and potentially in Russia,” he added.
The selection of Russia as the site for Tesla’s plant in the near future was described by Bloomberg as surprising. Last year, 5,300 used and 700 new electric cars were sold in this country, according to the analytical company Autostat. Russia, the world’s third-largest oil producer, has just begun building infrastructure for electric cars. Electric vehicles have a 0.2 percent share of passenger cars in Russia, said analyst Yevgeny Tyrtov of Vygon Consulting.
Tesla is now building its first factory in Europe near Berlin. The plant, known as Gigafactory 4, was originally scheduled to begin production this summer. At present, according to Musek, it looks more like January next year. He attributes the delays to the German bureaucracy.
The year before, Tesla started production at the Gigafactory 3 plant in Shanghai, which is its first production plant abroad. In January this year, the electric car manufacturer registered two companies in India. Musk repeatedly mentioned on Twitter the entry into India, which is the fifth largest car market in the world.
