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Panasonic, Tesla Agree on Terms for Giant Battery Factory
Panasonic Corp. has reached basic agreement with Tesla Motors Inc. to become a major partner in Tesla's planned $5 billion battery "gigafactory" in the western U.S., according to The Nikkei.
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Panasonic Corp. has reached basic agreement with Tesla Motors Inc. to become a major partner in Tesla's planned $5 billion battery "gigafactory" in the western U.S., according to The Nikkei.
The newspaper, which cites no sources, says Panasonic is likely to make an initial investment of 20 billion-30 billion yen ($195 million-$292 million) in the project. The 10 million-square-foot factory is scheduled to begin making batteries in 2017 for Tesla electric cars.
Panasonic's role will be to provide the Tesla plant with machinery to make battery cells. The Nikkei says the company's investment could reach $1 billion by 2020. By then, Tesla hopes to expand the factory's cell output enough to make 500,000 EV batteries per year.
Under an earlier deal, Panasonic will supply Tesla with 1.8 billion lithium-ion battery cells through 2017. Each Tesla Model S battery contains about 7,100 cells arranged in 16 modules.
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