Tesla Model Y production will strain battery supplies: Panasonic

Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada [CREDIT - YouTube user California Phantom]Tesla's main battery supplier, Panasonic, says the two companies won't have enough battery-building capacity to support production of the Model Y. In a conference announcing the company's annual earnings last Thursday, Panasonic CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga told reporters that "batteries will run out if Tesla starts to sell the Model Y and expands its...

Toyota, Panasonic agree to study prismatic battery cells for electric cars

Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota and Kazuhiro Tsuga, President, Panasonic For the 20 years since the introduction of the Prius, Toyota has enjoyed the first-mover advantage in hybrid cars, and leveraged those green credentials to boost public perception of its brand as a whole. But Toyota has yet to mass-market a battery-electric vehicle in the U.S., as Nissan has done with the Leaf. Toyota executives have consistently...

Tesla Model 3 battery cells will turn a profit for Panasonic by next year

Tour of Tesla battery gigafactory for invited owners, Reno, Nevada, July 2016Relatively few people focus on it, but the huge Japanese electronics company Panasonic is a minority shareholder in electric-car maker Tesla. The deal dates all the way back to November 2010, the same year that Tesla completed its initial public offering after Toyota took a stake in the company and sold Tesla its Fremont assembly plant in...

Panasonic sees Tesla as deeper partner for self-driving cars too: CEO

2017 Tesla Model SJapanese electronics firm Panasonic has been a close partner of Tesla Motors for many years now. It is the Silicon Valley automaker's sole battery supplier, it helps fund and operate the Tesla "Gigafactory" in Nevada, and the company owns a small stake in the carmaker. But Panasonic wants to move its partnership with Tesla beyond batteries...

Why new Tesla 100D battery may be crucial for the Tesla Model 3

Tesla Model S P100DLast month, when Tesla Motors announced new, even larger battery packs for its Model S sedan and Model X crossover utility vehicle, reaction was less than ecstatic. While even faster, even longer-range electric cars are nice and all, commentators said, shouldn't Tesla be sticking to its knitting? Specifically, shouldn't it be focusing every last...