Panasonic may upgrade one of its battery factories in Japan to produce better-format batteries for Tesla if the US electric car maker needs it, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
Panasonic, which is currently the exclusive supplier of battery cells for Tesla, manufactures them at a joint plant with an electric car manufacturer in Nevada (USA), the so-called Gigafactory, as well as at two factories in Japan.
Panasonic's plants in Japan produce the 18650 cylindrical lithium-ion cells used to power Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles, while the Nevada plant produces newer, higher-capacity 2170 cells for the "people's" Model 3 sedan.
Source: 3dnews.ru