Russia's Tesla rival? Kalshnikov's prototypes may never enter production

Despite its globally known brand, Kalashnikov's exports were weak

It’s easy to laugh at the goofy prototype of an electric vehicle that the Russian firm Kontsern Kalashnikov is billing as a competitor to Tesla. Yet there is a serious story behind the surprising recent turnaround of the vehicle’s maker, the creator of the iconic AK-47 assault rifle.

The CV-1 prototype was introduced at the Russian Defense Ministry’s annual exhibition this year. It has the body of an Izh Kombi, a clunker made in Izhevsk, where Kalashnikov is based, between 1973 and 1997. The electric vehicle looks like it was designed to fit a popular Russian meme used to describe clumsy