Report: Panasonic promises $1.6 billion toward Tesla's battery-making Gigafactory

Panasonic is doubling down on its investment both in Tesla and the electrified future of mobility.

According to MarketWatch, the Japanese electronics company has promised up to $1.6 billion toward the construction of Tesla Motors' lithium-ion battery-producing Gigafactory in Nevada.

The project is believed to cost between $4 and $5 billion to complete and won't be online for several years. When it is, Tesla hopes the surge of inexpensive, long-range batteries will help push its sales to 500,000 units annually by 2020. Panasonic hopes this is true as well. Moreover, it aims to bolster its sales of electronics to carmakers, which is expected to double in the next four years. Read more...