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Why do we care about Tesla’s business partners and who they get their batteries from? Well, if you’re not among the company’s customers, you probably don’t. If you are, however, then you’ll remember that, up until this moment, the California-based EV manufacturer would only work with Japanese electronics giant Panasonic, which is also co-developing a $5 billion battery factory you may know by the name Gigafactory.
There’s no big news here, up until it becomes huge. After all, Elon Musk is known for surprising the automotive industry on a regular basis, and if a second player joins the dance of battery manufacturing, then you can call that an unexpected event. Apparently, it all started when Japanese news agency Nihon Keisai Shimbun reported that Tesla Motors officials were negotiating with LG on a battery contract.
As you may know, LG Chem is a battery-making affiliate of LG Electronics Inc. - Oh, the guys that make those phones nobody wants? - We’re not talking about anything other than cars here, it’s not our place to tell, but yes, the same company.
Nevertheless, the company CEO-ed by Elon Musk has yet to make any declaration about the state of these negotiations.
One thing is clear as the blue summer sky, though, LG Chem is quite popular among the big players in the automotive industry, considering the likes of General Motors work with them for the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. They also collaborate to develop the rumored 200-mile range Chevrolet Bolt, which should hit the market soon. Add FoMoCo, Audi AG and Renault, and you have your list of customers working with the South Korean battery maker.
So what good will come from this collaboration, you may wonder. The deal Tesla Motors has reportedly sealed with South Korean battery maker LG Chem Ltd. is so that they could produce the battery for its upcoming Tesla Roadster 3.0 upgrade. Short reminder: the $29,000 upgrade is said to increase the total range on the Roadster by 35% through a 40% increase in energy storage.
As you may know, LG Chem is a battery-making affiliate of LG Electronics Inc. - Oh, the guys that make those phones nobody wants? - We’re not talking about anything other than cars here, it’s not our place to tell, but yes, the same company.
Nevertheless, the company CEO-ed by Elon Musk has yet to make any declaration about the state of these negotiations.
One thing is clear as the blue summer sky, though, LG Chem is quite popular among the big players in the automotive industry, considering the likes of General Motors work with them for the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. They also collaborate to develop the rumored 200-mile range Chevrolet Bolt, which should hit the market soon. Add FoMoCo, Audi AG and Renault, and you have your list of customers working with the South Korean battery maker.
So what good will come from this collaboration, you may wonder. The deal Tesla Motors has reportedly sealed with South Korean battery maker LG Chem Ltd. is so that they could produce the battery for its upcoming Tesla Roadster 3.0 upgrade. Short reminder: the $29,000 upgrade is said to increase the total range on the Roadster by 35% through a 40% increase in energy storage.
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