MOSCOW, May 22 — Elon Musk said yesterday that Tesla was close to establishing a presence in Russia and was looking at whether it could open factories there.

Addressing an event in Russia via video link, Musk said the company already had production sites in China and the United States, but was looking at opening production facilities in other parts of the world.

The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade invited Musk to Russia.

"Dear @Elonmusk, we were delighted to learn that you are considering building a factory in Russia. By the way, we have a number of state support measures for local OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers). Come to see us, we’ll talk about it :),” it said on social media in English.

Russian small private carmaker Zetta is designing an electric car and plans to launch production this year.

The auto industry in Russia, a global oil and gas exporter, has no successful electric car projects at present and analysts see slim prospects in the near future, primarily due to poor charging infrastructure. — Reuters