Lithium is shoving Oil out of the auto business
Tesla Motor Inc. is no longer a niche model automaker. It got rave reviews for its award-winning electric Model T3. They are faster, safer and much more efficient than any other EV on the market today.
Which explains why its stock is up more than 500% over the past three years.Yet, that rising value depends on Panasonic – Tesla’s “silent partner.”
In fact, Tesla wouldn’t be the success it is today without the EV cells that Panasonic makes. Indeed, the two firms joined forces back in 2009. The next year, Panasonic invested $30 million in Tesla. And a year later, it agreed to supply enough EV cells for more than 80,000 Teslas.
And the value of that relationship keeps getting better. Just look at what’s happening near Reno, Nevada.
There, Tesla will open its huge “gigafactory” next year that will allow it to reach its goal of making 500,000 cars a year – five times its 2015 output.
Just a few weeks ago, Panasonic confirmed it will invest up to $1.6 billion in the Tesla plant, which has a total price tag of about $5 billion. It’s also shifting hundreds of its Japanese engineers to Nevada to ensure the new plant gets off to a great start.
Tesla needs the gigafactory in part to fuel its growth in China. Tesla believes China will surpass U.S. sales by 2021. For Tesla, the Chinese market is a no-brainer. China now has more millionaires (3.6 million) than the eight biggest European nations combined.
Tesla may end up building cars in China. But for the first few years, the Nevada plant will likely be the main battery supplier for global sales.
For its part, Panasonic embraces the notion of Chinese production. At the end of 2015, the company announced plans to spend $400 million to build a lithium-ion battery plant in Dalian. When that plant opens in early 2017, it will be able to supply EV packs for 200,000 cars a year.
And that may not be enough. Thanks to robust government incentives, Chinese consumers bought more than 300,000 electric or hybrid vehicles in 2015, twice the level of just two years earlier.
Tesla Motor Inc. is no longer a niche model automaker. It got rave reviews for its award-winning electric Model T3. They are faster, safer and much more efficient than any other EV on the market today.
Which explains why its stock is up more than 500% over the past three years.Yet, that rising value depends on Panasonic – Tesla’s “silent partner.”
In fact, Tesla wouldn’t be the success it is today without the EV cells that Panasonic makes. Indeed, the two firms joined forces back in 2009. The next year, Panasonic invested $30 million in Tesla. And a year later, it agreed to supply enough EV cells for more than 80,000 Teslas.
And the value of that relationship keeps getting better. Just look at what’s happening near Reno, Nevada.
There, Tesla will open its huge “gigafactory” next year that will allow it to reach its goal of making 500,000 cars a year – five times its 2015 output.
Just a few weeks ago, Panasonic confirmed it will invest up to $1.6 billion in the Tesla plant, which has a total price tag of about $5 billion. It’s also shifting hundreds of its Japanese engineers to Nevada to ensure the new plant gets off to a great start.
Tesla needs the gigafactory in part to fuel its growth in China. Tesla believes China will surpass U.S. sales by 2021. For Tesla, the Chinese market is a no-brainer. China now has more millionaires (3.6 million) than the eight biggest European nations combined.
Tesla may end up building cars in China. But for the first few years, the Nevada plant will likely be the main battery supplier for global sales.
For its part, Panasonic embraces the notion of Chinese production. At the end of 2015, the company announced plans to spend $400 million to build a lithium-ion battery plant in Dalian. When that plant opens in early 2017, it will be able to supply EV packs for 200,000 cars a year.
And that may not be enough. Thanks to robust government incentives, Chinese consumers bought more than 300,000 electric or hybrid vehicles in 2015, twice the level of just two years earlier.
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