Panasonic Corp’s outgoing CEO, Kazuhiro Tsuga, told the Financial Times on Sunday that the company will have to reduce its reliance on Tesla Inc by making batteries more compatible with the electric vehicles of other global automakers. According to the Financial Times,
“At some point, we have to graduate from our one-legged approach of relying solely on Tesla,” Tsuga said in an interview with the newspaper on 1 April, after nine years as CEO.
“We’re moving into a new phase, and we’ll have to look for suppliers other than Tesla.”
Tsuga would leave the Japanese conglomerate in April after nine years at the helm, and Yuki Kusumi, the head of the automotive industry, would take over.
Panasonic has shifted its focus from low-end consumer electronics to batteries, machinery, and components under Tsuga’s leadership. The company announced last month that it expects its Tesla battery business to be profitable this fiscal year.
Panasonic and Tesla have formed a $5 billion “gigafactory” battery partnership near Reno, Nevada.
