Tesla working exclusively with Panasonic for Tesla Model 3 Battery: Musk

According to the Reuters report, Tesla might use Samsung SDI’s batteries if the company’s battery plant could not meet demand.

It said on Monday that a large supply of battery cells from Samsung had arrived at the Tesla development center in California.

Samsung SDI shares rose as much as 4.1 percent to 113,500 won in Seoul following the report. This single tweet from Musk made Samsung SDI’s stock slide 8 percent, or loss almost $580 million, while Panasonic’s stock price jumped about $800 million. The CEO denied the claims through a post on Twitter where he stated that the battery cells for the Tesla Model 3 will be provided exclusively by Panasonic. “News articles claiming otherwise are incorrect”, Mr Musk tweeted.

Tesla shares this morning were down 0.7 per cent at US$233.94. Asked if Samsung might supply Tesla Energy, on Wednesday morning he replied “yes”. Everything and nothing depending on the sender and the message, as investors in Samsung SDI Co found out this week.

The new versions, the rear-wheel drive Model S 60 and the all-wheel drive Model S 60D, will have slightly less range than the Model S already sold. This doesn’t mean that the Japanese manufacturer will “lose face” to its South Korean rival, as any deal that Tesla strikes with Samsung or other battery makers will not absolve or terminate any prior deal with Panasonic. Panasonic continues to work with Tesla on its $5 billion Gigafactory, of which it plans to contribute $1.6 billion over the next few years.

Tesla Energy is the automaker’s new business unit that was launched past year to supply energy for homes and businesses. In its first quarter of operation, Tesla managed to install 2500 Powerwalls, and 100 Powerpacks across Africa, Europe and North America.

Tesla received more than 300,000 deposits for its upcoming lower-priced Model 3 vehicle, which is scheduled to begin deliveries in late 2017 with a starting price of $35,000.