Tesla showed us its Model 3 supercar that is dubbed as the “Electric Car Of The Masses.” Tesla is planning the production ramp of the century and aims to deliver half a million cars by 2017 while its production capacity is currently one tenth of that. Its has been actively seeking production partners who will help the company in realizing the electric car dream that Elon Musk sees.
Samsung SDI, the battery division of the Korean conglomerate, is currently in talks with Tesla Motors for the supply of the high capacity battery and other energy storing components for the Model 3 car that is slated to hit the roads sometime next near. The information was leaked by an insider who is familiar with the matters.
Tesla Motors has Panasonic to supply the needed car batteries but LG and Samsung are also competing for the supply contract. If and when the sales of the cars exceed the initial estimate, then Panasonic wouldn’t be able to supply the necessary batteries and Samsung would have to step in to fulfil the gap.
Given the demand for the model 3, Samsung better ramps up the production of the car battery.
Due to the tremendous demand for the car, Elon Musk now plans to bring the car onto the road two years before the scheduled time and this is creating the supply constraints for the production line.
“It remains to be seen whether the orders will translate into actual sales,” the source said.
Tesla currently has almost 400,000 preorders for the Model 3 that starts at a base price of $35,000 and has to deliver them to the consumers by 2018.
“A batch of Samsung SDI battery cells has arrived at Tesla’s development base in California. The volume is considered large for a pilot project, which suggests that the batteries will be used for a final test before full-scale adoption.” Cited Nikkei
