JAKARTA - Tesla reportedly urged its main battery supplier, Panasonic, to accelerate the production of battery cells at their factory located in Kansas, United States (US).
This pressure comes amid growing demand for EV battery cell production in Uncle Sam's country. The move also underscores Tesla's strategy to strengthen US-based battery supply chains amid global trade challenges.
According to a report from the Financial Times and quoted from Teslarati, Thursday, May 15, Panasonic CEO Yuki Kusumi, in an interview with foreign media in Tokyo, revealed that their main customer (Tesla) urged the accelerated operation of the factory in De Soto, Kansas. The Panasonic battery facility in Kansas itself has been under construction since 2022.
"As our customers have said to immediately move Kansas, we are rushing to do so... There is a risk, but we expect a strong battery demand from our current main customers," said Kusumi.
SEE ALSO:
On the other hand, the trade tension between the US and China has eased recently, unfortunately talks did not touch the rates for EV batteries.
This fixed rate appears to encourage Tesla to rely more on the Panasonic plant in Kansas. The plant is projected to increase Tesla's US production capacity by 60 percent by March 2027. The long-term partnership between Panasonic and Tesla underscores the crucial role of Panasonic in the US EV market.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
