Panasonic Hesitant to Commit to Musk’s Tesla Battery Gigafactory
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Panasonic Corp., Tesla Motors Inc.’s primary supplier of lithium-ion cells for its electric Model S sedans, hasn’t committed to investing in a massive U.S. battery plant proposed by Tesla’s Elon Musk.
Joining Tesla’s “Gigafactory” battery project would raise investment risks, Panasonic President Kazuhiro Tsuga told reporters at a briefing in Tokyo. Tesla, which announced plans for the facility in February, said it’s reviewing potential sites in four southwestern U.S. states. The plant may require as much as $5 billion to build and employ about 6,500 people by 2020, the Palo Alto, California-based company said.