Elon Musk: Tesla Open To Supplying Batteries To Other EV Makers

Tesla boss Elon Musk has said the maker of electric vehicles (EVs) is opening to licensing its bespoke technology to other makers of EVs.

Specfically, Musk said that Tesla is open to licensing software and supplying powertrains and batteries to its rivals.

It comes after Musk last week urged the mining community to produce more nickel, as demand for EVs continues to grow.

Licensing Tesla tech

Musk made the comment in a tweet on Wednesday.

“Tesla is open to licensing software and supplying powertrains & batteries,” he tweeted. “We’re just trying to accelerate sustainable energy, not crush competitors!”

According to Reuters, Tesla has previously supplied batteries to Mercedes and Toyota under separate partnership deals.

But battery manufacturing is an area that analysts and industry officials say Tesla has a competitive edge compared with legacy automakers.

It is unclear what batteries Musk is willing to supply to rivals, but the firm is known to run a battery joint venture with Panasonic.

It also sources batteries from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and South Korea’s LG Chem.

Tesla is also planning to build its own battery manufacturing facility at its Fremont, California, plant under its “roadrunner” project.

Battery day

Tesla had been expected to introduce a low-cost, long-life battery in vehicles for the Chinese market later this year or early in 2021.

The idea is to bring electric car costs into line with conventional models, making them more accessible.

The “million mile” battery, named for the distance it lasts before needing to be replaced, has been in development with CATL.

Tesla had planned to announce the technology at a “Battery Day” originally scheduled for April, but the Coronavirus pandemic pushed it back until May, and then September this year.

Musk has previously told investors that the technology “will blow your mind”.