Elon Musk has seemingly dismissed reports that Tesla could invest in Nissan, rejecting speculation that the US electric vehicle maker might step in as a strategic investor for the struggling Japanese automaker.
Nissan shares surged 9.5% on Friday after a Financial Times report said that the former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was among those pushing for Tesla to invest in the company, potentially in exchange for Nissan’s US factories.
Musk, however, quickly shot down the idea. Responding to a post about the report on X, Musk wrote: “The Tesla factory IS the product. The Cybercab production line is like nothing else in the automotive industry.”
The Tesla factory IS the product.
The Cybercab production line is like nothing else in the automotive industry.
His comment reinforced Tesla’s long-standing focus on its own manufacturing processes, which Musk has repeatedly described as a key competitive advantage in EV production.
The Nissan-Honda merger collapse
The reported Tesla investment push comes shortly after Nissan walked away from merger talks with Honda, reportedly over concerns about becoming a subsidiary of the larger automaker.
Nissan has faced leadership instability and declining profitability, hampering its transition to electric vehicles.
Honda and Nissan, Japan’s second and third-largest automakers, explored a potential merger that would have created the world’s fourth-largest car company by vehicle sales, behind Toyota, Volkswagen, and Hyundai.
However, talks collapsed due to disagreements over leadership structure and power distribution.
Reports indicated Honda sought a framework that would have positioned Nissan as a subsidiary, a proposal Nissan and its top shareholder, Renault, rejected.
Despite the failed merger, both companies have confirmed they will continue their existing technology-sharing alliance, which includes Mitsubishi Motors.
Nissan’s bumpy road
The discussions around Nissan’s future have also included Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn, which had previously expressed interest in acquiring a stake in Nissan.
Foxconn, best known for assembling Apple’s iPhones, has ambitious plans to become a major player in electric vehicle production and has already formed an EV partnership called Foxtron with Taiwan’s Yulon Motor Co.
A sale of Nissan’s US plants could align with the company’s broader restructuring efforts, which include cutting 9,000 jobs worldwide.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida stated last week that Nissan and Foxconn had not engaged in talks at the management level.
His remarks came a day after Foxconn’s chairman said the Taiwanese firm would consider taking a stake in Nissan for cooperation.
Nissan, still grappling with the aftermath of the 2018 scandal involving former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, has struggled to keep pace with the industry’s rapid shift to electric vehicles.
The automaker reported a 90% drop in operating profit for the first half of fiscal year 2024, with net income plunging 94% compared to the previous year.
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