Tesla is gearing up for the future as it brings in one of Japan's giants on board to help out in solar production. Last Tuesday, a deal was struck in that Panasonic will invest more than 30 billion yen or $256 million to SolarCity's Buffalo, New York, manufacturing facility.
The deepening partnership between Elon Musk's company and Japan's Panasonic will rake in more cash and manufacturing experience. This also confirms SolarCity's commitment to create 1,400 jobs in the region, inclusive of more than 500 manufacturing jobs, per Buffalo News.
Panasonic announces $256 million investment in Tesla’s U.S. solar cell plant https://t.co/b5lYLVJkoN
— VentureBeat (@VentureBeat) December 27, 2016
The plan was part of the solar partnership between the two companies back in October. However, it did not disclose any investment details. Although Tesla noted that their deal would only fall through unless investors approve the SolarCity purchase, which Tesla did acquire for $2 billion.
According to Bloomberg, both Tesla and Panasonic intend to begin the production of photovoltaic (PV) modules in the summer of 2017. And by 2019, they will expand the facility's output capacity to 1 gigawatt.
Meanwhile, Panasonic's total investment wasn't divulged in the statement released last Tuesday. However, according to Yayoi Watanabe, Panasonic's spokeswoman, the investment will be for the production equipment. "Panasonic will cover required capital costs in Buffalo and Tesla is making a long-term purchase commitment from Panasonic," according to Tesla in a blog post.
The deal struck between Panasonic and Tesla is similar to an earlier partnership between the two companies. They are building a $5 billion Gigafactory east of Reno, Nevada, to produce batteries for energy storage products and electric cars.
Panasonic is the exclusive battery supplier of Tesla's Model S and Model X. And they will also supply batteries for Tesla's upcoming Model 3, Elon Musk's company's first mass-market car.
Now that Panasonic is onboard, they will not only bring more money, but also more experience in manufacturing PV cells. Panasonic has been in fact producing solar panels for 3 decades. This means good news since neither SolarCity nor Tesla has made its own solar panels, although except for its pilot factory in Fremont.
