Electric super car maker Tesla Motors has reached an agreement with the Panasonic Corporation for the supply of lithium-ion battery cells.
Under the terms of the agreement, Panasonic will supply enough cells to meet Tesla’s plans for an aggressive production ramp-up. This includes meeting 6,000 orders for existing Model S reservations and will actually be enough to build more than 80,000 vehicles during the next four years.
It’s not the first time that the two companies have worked together. They have formed a multi-year agreement on next generation automotive grade battery cells in an effort to accelerate the availability of electric cars. In 2009 they entered a supply agreement and in 2010 Panasonic invested $30million to deepen the partnership.
In addition, the two companies have developed a next-generation battery cell based on nickel chemistry that has been optimised for electric vehicle quality and life.
