Toyota and Panasonic are set to strengthen their links amid rumours the Japanese firm is reopening a mothballed plant to manufacture solar panels for Elon Musk 's company , according to Japan 's Nikkei . The Japanese company will dispatch technicians to help get the plant running. Insiders say Panasonic is keen to tap into the US market via Tesla subsidiary SolarCity , which does not manufacture its own solar panels . The Kaizuka plant in Japan was previously shut down after a slump in sales . Tesla and Panasonic 's current projects include battery manufacturing at the Gigafactory in Nevada and solar cell production at a plant in Buffalo , New York .
Toyota and Panasonic are set to strengthen their links amid rumours the Japanese firm is reopening a mothballed plant to manufacture solar panels for Elon Musk 's company , according to Japan 's Nikkei . Insiders say Panasonic is keen to tap into the US market via Tesla subsidiary SolarCity , which does not manufacture its own solar panels . The Kaizuka plant in Japan was previously shut down after a slump in sales . Tesla and Panasonic 's current projects include battery manufacturing at the Gigafactory in Nevada and solar cell production at a plant in Buffalo , New York .