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Russia sets sights on cooperating with Elon Musk’s Tesla on electric cars, says minister

Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said that it would be necessary to provide charging infrastructure and incentive regulatory mechanisms

Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov Alexei Nikolsky/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov

© Alexei Nikolsky/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. Russia is eyeing cooperation with Elon Musk's Tesla on electric cars if the localization of technology and added value creation were to be in Russia, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in an interview with Arguments and Facts newspaper.

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"So, it should be understood that the main task of the state is to create the added value remaining in the country and to localize the technologies that we do not have or for which we would like to gain additional competence. That's why, if Mr. Musk is going to team up with us in terms of technology exchange and added value, then why not? We are ready for such cooperation," the minister said.

Russia has its own electric car production technologies, though they are too expensive at this time, he noted.

"If Elon Musk or other producers, including our, decide to go ahead with wider-scale projects in the field of light electric cars, our task will be to provide charging infrastructure (first of all here we will need the support of [our] colleagues from the Ministry of Energy) and incentive regulatory mechanisms, for example, we will hash over and sort out the issue of the transportation tax," Manturov explained.

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