Renters of both vehicles had used Turo, a peer-to-peer app. Officials are investigating possible connections between the two cases.
Sales of the company’s cars are flagging, but investors are focusing on the potential of autonomous driving and Mr. Musk’s ties to President-elect Donald J. Trump.
The Japanese companies are considering joining forces to survive in a rapidly changing auto industry, but auto history is filled with troubled and failed marriages.
Japan’s second- and third-largest automakers hope the deal can help them catch up with Tesla and China’s BYD in electric vehicles and advanced software.
General Motors has gone from market leader to also-ran in the world’s largest car market, stymied by its own missteps and Chinese policies that favored its local rivals.
The automakers, Japan’s second and third largest, are said to be discussing a tie-up that could reshape the country’s industry.
Changing technology, political turmoil and competition from China are cutting into profits and forcing carmakers to cut jobs and close factories.
Faltering U.S. industrial leadership has allowed China to take a harder trade stance as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
General Motors and other foreign automakers are selling fewer cars and losing lots of money in China, where domestic electric and hybrid cars have taken off.
LG Energy Solution will now solely own a factory in Michigan that it had planned to operate through a joint venture with General Motors.