Tesla CEO Elon Musk has denied a rumour that the company has secured a location for their fourth Gigafactory in Russia.
The rumour began this morning following a report from the Russian publication Argumenti. The report said two sources from inside the government had confirmed Tesla would build a manufacturing facility near the country’s capital of Moscow.
“In Korolev, near Moscow, the heart of Russian cosmonautics, the first Russian plant for the production of Tesla electric cars will be built. This was confirmed at once by two sources in the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.”
The article said Tesla’s choice of Korolev makes sense because of the high concentration of qualified personnel in the area, as well as its proximity to large cities. They also cited comments from Musk earlier this year in which he said Tesla was close to establishing a presence in Russia.
Musk however put the rumours to rest saying on Twitter this afternoon that a decision on the location of the next Gigafactory has not yet been made.
https://twitter.com/DriveTeslaca/status/1440018079493226496
Musk’s choice of words is interesting and indicate the company is currently in discussions over the location of the next Gigafactory. The location is still up in the air, but it could be another in the US, or in Europe as well.
Even with the denial, the Elon Musk and Russia story may not be over yet. Earlier this year Musk invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to a friendly conversation on the social media app Clubhouse. The chat was reportedly set to be moderated by Russian-born AI researcher and previous Musk interviewer Lex Friedman, but there has been no word recently if this will still go ahead.
