Russia's Copycat Tesla Is A Total Mess

Electric vehicles are becoming mainstream and it seems like every automaker wants a piece of the pie. So do countries. Tesla, as we all know, was founded and is based in the US, but China has its own Tesla competitors, as does Russia. Well, Russia is trying. Kind of. Meet the Monarch Concept S (no, not the Model S). It has a long way to go before it makes production, if ever.

According to Ivan Ivanov via Facebook, the vehicle you see here is an unfinished Monarch Concept S. Describing it as "unfinished" is being polite. Ivanov says the car as a "scam" and is very skeptical about its future production, to say the least. For starters, the prototype you see here is unable to move on its own and stationed on a wooden platform. The body is not only unpainted but covered in an uneven primer. Look closely and you'll notice the frame isn't even welded properly in many spots.

Meanwhile, the front and rear lights are missing, nor are there headlight mounts. There are simply empty spaces. The interior is also far from production-ready. Notice all of the exposed components, screws sticking out, lack of panels, and lots of wiring. It looks like a place where you could easily get electrocuted. Even the steering wheel is incomplete; an airbag would be helpful. However, the leather seats bearing the Monarch logo are there, though they may not even be bolted into place.

To be fair, this thing a prototype, but we've seen plenty of prototypes before and this one is a long way off from hitting the road (legally). Honestly, it appears to be nothing more than a shell of a vehicle with a partial interior. Ivanov might have a more accurate term: a "garbage can."