Bloomberg reports that Elon Musk, chief executive of U.S. electric car maker Tesla, has said he is open to Tesla setting up a factory in Russia.
Musk praised Russia’s achievements in space technology over the years at a video symposium with local students in Moscow on Sunday, and was invited by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who sponsored the event, to take about 45 minutes of questions on topics ranging from the way he hires people to artificial intelligence (AI) to the future of human consciousness. Musk fans are familiar with many of these topics.
I think we’re close to creating a Tesla stronghold in Russia, and I think that’s a great thing,” Musk said. Over time, we’ll try to set up factories around the world, and at some point we may land in Russia.”
Musk, who is also the CEO of U.S. government contract contractor Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), called for more dialogue between Washington and Moscow.
The Kremlin specifically invited Musk to the meeting to spearhead plans to revitalize the Soviet-era educational institution, the Knowledge Society.
There is a lot of talent and energy in Russia,” Musk said. I hope that energy continues into the future. I strongly encourage everyone to be motivated to make the future better than ever and to be optimistic about it.”
Musk, 49, invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to join him for a chat in the Clubhouse three months before the meeting, and Peskov told reporters that he still hoped the Putin-Musk conversation would be a success, but according to TASS, preparations for it have not yet begun.
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