Tesla Looks to Reinforce Its Battery Supply Chain: Why That Matters

Supply chains are already stressed for automakers across the world. Given demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is expected to grow by leaps and bounds, that is likely to get worse, with EV batteries widely believed to become the bottleneck. 

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been leading the sector in all areas so far, and it plans to continue that role if a raw material supply crunch develops. Tesla builds its own cells at its Gigafactories, recently introducing its 4680 battery in cooperation with Panasonic. But this week it seems to have taken another step to ensure its battery supply with plans to source from an EV competitor. 

While Tesla led the world with sales of more than 900,000 electric cars last year, China-based BYD sold over 600,000 electric vehicles of its own, including both plug-in hybrid and battery electric. Now it seems Tesla will be using BYD as a battery supplier, too. The tie-up would link two EV leaders that combined to sell more than one-third of all battery electric vehicles worldwide last year. 

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Source Fool.com