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 .
Tesla and Panasonic are set to strengthen their links amid rumours the Japanese firm is reopening a mothballed factory 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 Osaka was previously closed 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.