Things are heating up.....who could be our next off-take partner.... In the SMH today
http://www.smh.com.au/business/inno...et-from-teslas-elon-musk-20160609-gpfe5s.html
Samsung SDI shares plunge after single tweet from Tesla's Elon Musk
Part of the article: About $US580 million ($777 million) was wiped from the market value of the Samsung Electronics affiliate on Wednesday following a single tweet by Elon Musk.
The billionaire Tesla founder made it clear that Panasonic was Tesla's sole supplier of batteries for its upcoming Model 3 small car, as well as the Model S large sedan and Model X SUV, dispelling recent rumours that Samsung SDI might also supply batteries for the Model 3.
For the Model 3, Tesla and Panasonic are jointly developing a new, slightly larger cylindrical battery cell than those used in the S and X. Photo: AP
"Would like to clarify that Tesla is working exclusively with Panasonic for Model 3 cells. News articles claiming otherwise are incorrect," Mr Musk tweeted.
Samsung SDI's shares plunged 8 per cent after Mr Musk's comments, while Panasonic's rallied nearly 4 per cent, adding $US800 million ($1.07 billion) to its market value.
Panasonic is also an investor in Tesla's $US5 billion Gigafactory east of Reno, Nevada. It last month said it was ready, if necessary, to speed up its investment in the battery plant to meet demand for the Model 3. The Japanese company plans to contribute $US1.6 billion to the plant in phases over the next few years.
Citing "tremendous demand",
Mr Musk said in April that Tesla planned to boost total vehicle production to 500,000 in 2018, two years ahead of its original target. Suppliers have said the goal would be difficult to achieve.
BusinessDay, Bloomberg and Reuters
(20min delay)