Moscow offers Elon Musk talks on ‘state support’ as Tesla boss mulls opening production in Russia

21 May, 2021 22:41 / Updated 4 years ago

Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has invited Elon Musk to discuss the opening of a Tesla factory in the world's largest country, saying the innovative US car maker could potentially qualify for a state support program.

“We were delighted to learn that you are considering building a factory in Russia,” the ministry said in a tweet on Friday. Just hours earlier, the South African-born billionaire revealed that Tesla is exploring opportunities for selling its electric cars in Russia and neighboring nations – including opening a production hub there.

“We have a number of state support measures for local [original equipment manufacturers],” the ministry added, inviting the US-based entrepreneur to “come” and “talk” about it. 

Musk, who has never hidden his admiration for the Soviet and Russian achievements in space exploration, has long advocated a more active dialogue between Moscow and Washington.

“There is a lot of talent and energy in Russia,” he said while talking via a video link to the Russian ‘New Knowledge’ education forum on Friday.

Also on rt.com Tesla looking at Russia as a potential production hub – Elon Musk

Musk has even invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to a chat on the app Clubhouse once. The Kremlin has recently responded by saying that they hope a meeting between Putin and Musk would happen eventually, but provided no specific timeline. 

As for the ministry’s proposal, Musk has not responded to it yet.

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