Business with Tesla has yet to contribute to profit. Yet Panasonic said it was in talks to add to its $1.6 billion investment and take capacity at the so-called Gigafactory over the 35 Gigawatt hours (GWh) it is set to reach by March-end.
Panasonic is the exclusive battery cell supplier for Tesla cars. As production of the automaker’s mass-market Model 3 accelerated in the July-September quarter, Panasonic had to send more engineers and spend more to increase cell production.
The higher costs, as well as slower demand for factory automation equipment in China amid an escalating Sino-U.S. trade war, pushed Panasonic’s July-September operating profit down 15 percent to 95.2 billion yen ($840.92 million).
