EVs complicate Musk-Ukraine loss of affection

The Ecofactor electric vehicle recharging company based in Odesa, Ukraine, is well on the way to disrupting the fragmented and inefficient EV industry through innovation, cost efficiency and time to market.

Ecofactor founder and CEO Sergii Velchev traveled to the United States leading a Ukrainian delegation of companies to the annual SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington DC, the world’s largest foreign direct investment conference. Hosted by US President Joe Biden and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, it was attended by over a dozen US governors.

Velchev said he was attending the SelectUSA to look at launching an Ecofactor manufacturing plant in the United States after having grown Ecofactor out of Ukraine to neighboring markets of Romania, Moldova, Poland, Czechia, Bulgaria and Austria. Ecofactor later expanded its operations to non-EU markets of  the United Kingdom, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

In the same way Tesla founder Elon Musk built his start-up from the engineering legacy of the all but defunct UK’s Lotus, Velchev is quietly making Ecofactor into a global competitor based on Ukraine’s high level of engineering, IT development and industrial production.

Ukraine was able to beat back Russia’s invasion by transforming $500 commercial drones into swarms of guided explosive missiles, defeating the world’s second-largest military by brain power and not brawn.

Ecofactor’s factory inside Odesa is a case in point. Velchev needs only 45 employees to compete against larger rivals, with EV car sales, service, production and R&D all under one roof.

Velchev is also the Tesla dealer for the Odesa region but says Elon Musk has been giving neither him nor Ecofactor any love. Tesla has not sold or shipped its Cybertruck to Ukraine. The truck’s factory-standard bullet- and bomb-resistant body could save hundreds of Ukrainian lives. (Tesla salesmen in northern Virginia said anyone can export their Tesla Cybertruck but it would not have supercharging, Tesla Full Self Drive capabilities or any mechanical services.)

Musk’s moves away from Ukraine – from de-activating Starlink over Crimea to supporting fervent critics of the country such as venture capitalist David Sacks and US Senator JD Vance (Donald Trump’s choice to join him on the Republican ticket as vice presidential candidate) – have not been positive signs for Tesla’s chances of defeating increasing competition of Chinese EV rivals such as BYD. 

Ukraine has a proven capacity to beat Chinese imports both on price and quality. Arguably, a Ukraine-made Tesla car would be able to beat any Chinese-made EV on price and at the same time display quality and engineering excellence rivaling the best German automakers.

The Ukrainian government is pulling out all stops to convince leading US and European utilities – such as Chicago’s Exelon, Atlanta’s Southern Company, Italy’s ENEL and Greece’s PPC – to help the country replace all the bombed-out power prodution and transmission lines inflicted by Russia. Ecofactor is able to assist.

Ukrainians have dismantled Tesla battery packs and used them to provide electricity to residential buildings after Russia targeted numerous power stations. Velchev said Ecofactor has invented a EV energy storage system using imported Chinese lithium packs so people can recharge their EVs even during the blackouts that increasingly plague the developed world.

Ecofactor ‘s Velchev and his company could have the last laugh in the EV race with their near-term entry into the Unted States, the world’s largest economy. While US President Joe Biden earmarked more than $7.5 billion to build fast-charging EV stations across the United States, only seven charging stations have been built of a planned 500,000 by 2030.

If Velchev and his team can keep electric vehicles running in Ukraine – where the capital and many other cities face almost nightly and daily bombardments from Russian drones and missiles – they should have little problem in rolling out a cost-effective and efficient US national EV charging network.

Peter K Semler is the chief executive editor and founder of Capitol Intelligence. Previously, he was the Washington bureau chief for Mergermarket.