Panasonic, Tesla Up on New Battery Plans

Apr 29, 2023

While Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is a winner as an electric vehicle stock, it's very much dependent on one key component to remain top of the heap: batteries. However, Tesla might have a whole new ally at hand when it comes to battery success: Panasonic (OTHEROTC:PCRFF). Thanks to this new alliance, both Tesla and Panasonic are up somewhat in Tuesday afternoon's trading.

Panasonic and Tesla were already working together to some extent. In fact, Panasonic actually owns part of a battery factory with Tesla. But seeing the intense demand for lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries, Panasonic decided to step in and step up production at the plant. That means the Nevada Gigafactory the duo owns will ramp up production a further 10% by March 2026.

This builds on earlier news where Panasonic noted it planned to get together with Tesla on making electric vehicle batteries, and Panasonic planned to build two new factories in a bid to get more cells into Tesla's hands and, by extension, cars. Tesla won't just be buying batteries from Panasonic, though; Tesla batteries will come from a range of other producers as well. However, a Teslarati report noted that the Nevada plant is "already crammed," which would require some capital expenditure to step up operations therein.

Analysts, meanwhile, mostly approve of Tesla's move to branch out and draw in more batteries. With 14 Buy ratings, 11 Holds, and four Sells, Tesla stock is ranked a Moderate Buy by analysts. However, Tesla stock also boasts 9.22% downside risk thanks to its average price target of $199.

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