Tesla has had a rough year, and every time it looks like things are about to come right, Elon goes and does (or tweets) something.

First, it was his Ambien-fuelled Twitter habit, and more recently, his televised public breakdown.

More bad news for Tesla – they’ve now got competition.

The BBC reports that the Russian manufacturing firm Kalashnikov, famous for the AK-47 assault rifle, has revealed their prototype for an electric car that they claim will “give Elon Musk’s Tesla a run for its money”.

[The firm] presented the eggshell-blue prototype vehicle, the CV-1, at an event near the capital, Moscow.

It said the CV-1 (below), inspired by a Soviet hatchback created in the 1970s, was a revolutionary cutting-edge “supercar”.

Kalashnikov was earlier ridiculed over its new combat robot “little Igor”.

The company said in a statement on Thursday that the CV-1 car featured a number of “complex systems” with technology that would “let us stand in the ranks of global electric car producers such as Tesla”.

It added that, when fully developed, the car would have a top speed several times higher than current electric vehicles produced by its firm and would be able to travel 220 miles (350 km) on a single charge.

I think it looks really cool, but what do I know. The online response varied between those who loved the car, and those who hated it:

Kalashnikov has been looking to take its brand in different directions and recently launched a clothing line and a catalogue of personal items ranging from umbrellas to smartphone covers.

However its decision to go down the road of developing electric vehicles was met with mixed reactions in Moscow.

Social media users quickly took to the company’s Facebook page to share their thoughts on Russia’s answer to Tesla, with some commenting on its “funny Zombie-like” design, while others praised its “cool” appearance.

“Your tanks are great, but it would be better if you stayed away from cars,” one user wrote.

It is a bit of a jump from machine guns to fashion and environmentally friendly cars. Still, if Tony Stark can make the change…

Speaking of Iron Man:

Earlier this week, Kalashnikov unveiled Igorek (aka “little Igor”); a four-metre (13 ft) tall, 4.5-tonne, manned robot designed for “carrying out engineering and combat tasks”.

At a time when robots are competing to become smaller, sleeker and smarter, the company was mocked over the robot’s bulky old-fashioned design.

Kalashnikov hasn’t given up though, with plans to reveal a new version of the robot in 2020.

Russia might be run by a sociopath who can’t keep his shirt on, but I’ll give them this – they’re tenacious.

[source:bbc]