Japanese group draws up plans for Tesla to invest in Nissan: Report

A high-level Japanese group that includes a former prime minister has drawn up plans for Tesla to invest in Nissan after the collapse of its merger talks with Honda, the Financial Times said on Friday.

 

A separate Nikkei newspaper report said Taiwan's Foxconn has proposed forming a partnership with Honda with an ultimate aim of creating a four-way framework that would also include Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. 

The Japanese group behind the plans for Tesla to invest in Nissan hopes the Elon Musk-led company will become a strategic investor, believing it is keen to acquire Nissan's plants in the United States, according to the Financial Times. 

The proposal is being led by former Tesla board member Hiromichi Mizuno with support from ex-premier Yoshihide Suga and his former aide Hiroto Izumi, the newspaper said, citing unidentified sources. 

Some analysts, however, are doubtful of Tesla's interest in acquiring U.S. plants, citing its ample capacity at existing factories and first decline in yearly deliveries in 2024.  

Tesla said last month it expected the vehicle business to return to growth this year.

 

Suga's office said it was not aware of a plan to encourage Tesla to invest in Nissan. Suga stood down as prime minister in 2021 but remains a member of Japan's lower house, representing a constituency in Nissan's home prefecture of Kanagawa. 

In a social media post, Mizuno said he had "absolutely no involvement" in what was reported in the FT article, adding that he doubted if Tesla had any interest at all in Nissan factories given Tesla's unique factory design. 

Nissan declined to comment on the report, while Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters was not immediately able to contact Izumi. 

Matt Britzman, a senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said there was no value for Tesla in investing in infrastructure from a legacy carmaker. 

"Tesla's secret weapon is the novel way its factories have been designed and optimised for its cars," Britzman said.

Nissan shares closed up 9.6% after the FT report. The automaker and Honda ended talks to forge a $60-billion car company last week. Nissan said it will seek new partnerships. 

According to the FT, some Nissan board members have suggested Tesla and Apple as ideal strategic investors.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment. 

Acquiring Nissan's U.S. plants might make sense considering President Donald Trump's plans to apply new tariffs on auto imports, and separate tariffs on Mexico and Canada, said Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein. 

"The cost to build a new auto plant is high, so if Tesla is able to acquire an existing plant that greatly reduces the cost," he said.

Tesla ended 2024 with $36.56 billion in cash and equivalents, giving it a large war chest for any deal, although it has shown little appetite for investing in auto companies. 

Sources have previously told Reuters that Nissan was open to working with new partners, with the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn seen as one candidate. 

Later on Friday, the Nikkei newspaper reported that through partnering with Honda, Foxconn aimed to form a broader framework for cooperation to compete against Tesla and Chinese EV makers. 

Honda declined to comment on the Nikkei report. Foxconn representatives did not immediately reply to a comment request.

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said last week that Nissan and Foxconn had not held talks at management level. A day before Uchida made his remarks, the Taiwanese firm's chairman had said it would consider taking a stake in Nissan for cooperation.