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It’s almost official: Panasonic and Tesla will enter into a basic agreement where the former will supply the latter with battery-production machines for the automaker’s up-and-coming Gigafactory.
Reuters reports the deal — which will be officially announced by the end of this month — comes with a price tag of ¥20 billion – ¥30 billion ($196.4 million – $294.7 million USD) paid to Tesla by Panasonic.
The battery maker, which wants to be the sole entity under the roof of the as-yet-to-be-located factory, will invest $1 billion overall into the ambitious project, estimated to cost $5 billion in total investment.
3 Comments on “Panasonic, Tesla Enter Into Production Equipment Agreement...”
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This is a confusing post.
Panasonic will provide Tesla with equipment *and* pay them? So, Tesla isn’t buying the equipment, or is the equipment part of the value of Panasonic’s investment? And how does the payment fit into Panasonic’s $1B share of the gigafactory’s investment?
Who is the “battery maker” in the article? (Tesla, because they are going into the battery-making business, or Panasonic, because they make equipment to make batteries?) Is Tesla hiring Panasonic to make batteries in their gigafactory, or are they just a supplier?
As I understand it, Panasonic wants to be the sole “outside” beneficiary of Tesla’s battery plant–all output to carry either the Tesla or Panasonic brands and no other. For this kind of exclusivity where one plant is projected to output as many or more batteries than all other sources combined, Panasonic would gain a huge advantage over their competition for almost all non-automotive battery packs and probably most automotive packs as well. In essence, any brand currently using Panasonic batteries would effectively be using Tesla batteries under the Panasonic brand. A possible huge financial windfall for Panasonic.
Yeah, I was left wondering if the Gigafactory is a joint venture where both Tesla and Panasonic own stock in “Gigafactory, Inc”? Or maybe Panasonic is swapping factory machinery and support for Tesla stock? Some statements in the article raise the question, but leaves the observant reader hanging.
Perhaps another article on the corporate arcana behind the deal is in order?
Or maybe pch101 will explain the whole thing in one terse-but-informative paragraph. :-)