[THE INVESTOR] South Korean battery-maker Samsung SDI’s shares rebounded Thursday after Tesla Motors chief executive Elon Musk said the Korean firm may supply batteries for its energy unit.
Earlier on Wednesday, Samsung SDI’s shares had tumbled 8 percent, as Musk denied news reports that Tesla would procure batteries for its electric vehicles from the Korean battery-maker.
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He tweeted, “Would like to clarify that Tesla is working exclusively with Panasonic for Model 3 cells. News articles claiming otherwise are incorrect.”
The remark poured cold water on market expectations as it came a few hours after Samsung SDI chief executive Cho Nam-sung told reporters, “We are in good talks with the business partner (Tesla).”
Tesla has been maintaining a strong partnership with Japanese electronics maker Panasonic, which has invested $30 million in Tesla in 2010 and agreed to supply 1.8 billion cells for Tesla’s Model S and Model X.
After Musk replied “yes” a little later when asked in a tweet if Samsung might supply Tesla Energy -- if not Model 3 -- Samsung SDI stock prices partially recovered the following day. Its shares rose 2.75 percent Thursday.
Tesla Energy is the automaker’s new business unit that was launched last year to supply energy for homes and businesses. It delivered more than 2,500 stationary batteries for homes and 100 batteries for businesses in North America, Asia, Europe and Africa, according to Tesla.
By Shin Ji-hye (
shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
