Japan reportedly turns to Tesla to secure Nissan’s future after Honda deal collapse, Elon Musk says… | Company Business News
A high-level Japanese group including former prime minister Yoshihide Suga has drawn up plans for Elon Musk’s Tesla to invest in Nissan, the Financial Times reports. The new proposal is being led by former Tesla board member Hiro Izumi and backed by the former prime minister and his former aide Hiroto Izumi.
The group reportedly believes that Tesla would like to be a strategic investor in Nissan, with the EV maker interested in acquiring the company’s plans in the US. The Tesla plans come shortly after the $58 billion merger proposal between Nissan and Honda collapsed over fears that the Japanese carmaker could fall into potentially foreign hands.
Reportedly, the proposal could see a consortium of investors with Tesla as the main backer and a minority stake from Foxconn to prevent a full takeover by the Taiwanese company.
Notably, the talks with Honda were initiated after Foxconn approached Renault in 2024 about buying some of its shares in the Japanese carmaker. Earlier this month, after the deal fell through, the iPhone component maker confirmed its interest in acquiring Nissan in a bid to expand its EV manufacturing business.
Nissan had also reportedly begun its search for a strategic partner in recent weeks, with Tesla and Apple among the names suggested by some of its board members as ideal targets. Japan’s third-largest carmaker had begun its emergency turnaround plan, which included laying off 9,000 people, after posting a quarterly loss.
Suga, who served as Japan’s prime minister for just over a year, left the post in 2021 but remains active in politics and is still a member of the country’s lower house of parliament. Suga reportedly started his political career in Yokohama, the city where Nissan is based.
Elon Musk reacts to Tesla’s Nissan investment:
Elon Musk responded to a user sharing the report on X, writing, “The Tesla factory IS the product. The Cybercab production line is like nothing else in the automotive industry.”
