The truth about the rumoured Tesla-Toyota alliance is revealed.
- Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, has long admired the Japanese firm.
- The storey simply suggested that "if" Tesla establishes a cooperation with Toyota, it will be able to introduce a low-cost compact SUV EV on a Toyota chassis.
- Tesla accelerated the transition to electric vehicles in a way that no other automaker has, paving the way for sustainable transportation today.
- Toyota just announced its first all-electric crossover, the bZ4X, reintroducing the company to the EV game.
- If the world's top two automakers do actually form a joint venture to make EVs more affordable and reliable, it will appear to be a relationship the world has previously seen, but with new ramifications yet unknown.
This is the Chosun Ilbo report translated from Korean:
“It is heard that Tesla and Toyota have been reviewing their partnership since last year and are nearing the final stage. According to an official from the Japanese auto industry on the 28th (March), Tesla and Toyota are considering co-developing a small electric SUV platform as the basic frame of the car
“The alliance review has been under way since last year. The main goal of the alliance is to provide Tesla with a vehicle platform, and for Tesla to provide Toyota with some of the electronic control platforms and software technologies installed in its vehicles.
“If the partnership with Toyota is established, Tesla will be able to use the Toyota platform to offer a small SUV electric car at a low cost. In addition Tesla's sales in Japan, which is around 1,000 units a year, are likely to increase significantly.
“Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in September last year that 'We will offer a $25,000 (half price) electric car in 2023’ at its new technology open event Battery Day. However, many experts say it would be difficult for Tesla to find a way to build an electric car at such a low price.
“Tesla released a semi-medium-sized electric vehicle Model 3 in 2017 and a medium-sized electric SUV Model Y in 2020, to be followed by an electric pickup truck CyberTruck within this year. However, no specific details of the ‘half-price electric vehicle’ that it plans to release in 2023 are known yet.
“Meanwhile Toyota could also use Tesla technology to greatly reduce the resources and time spent on innovation of its vehicles' integrated Electronic Control Unit ECU and Operating Dystem OS. “Toyota is said to have fallen behind Tesla in integrated ECU and OS technologies that can control and improve vehicle functions through wireless Over The Air OTA updates.
“In other words, through cooperation between the two companies, Tesla can reduce the cost and period of developing small electric SUVs and Toyota can reduce the cost and duration of developing ECU and OS. It aims for a Win-Win effect that reduces the time it takes for the two companies to complement each other's weaknesses so that they can focus more on their strengths.”
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What statements did Toyota and Tesla make?
"We would like to avoid from commenting on rumours," a Toyota representative stated. Tesla made no particular comments in response to the allegations.
Toyota has previously collaborated with Tesla.
Yes. There is a mutual admiration between the two, despite the fact that their attitudes to business are quite different.
Toyota and Tesla formed a relationship in 2010. Toyota President Akio Toyoda stated at the time that his company may learn from Tesla's "rapid decision-making and adaptability." It was one of the primary reasons for the alliance, according to Toyoda.
Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, has long admired the Japanese firm.
Musk dubbed the budding alliance "historic" in May 2010, as it took shape. Toyoda stated in 2010 after his Tesla Roadster test drive that he felt "the wind of the future." As must be emphasised, his organisation may learn a great deal about automobile manufacturing from Toyota.
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LOOK, NO ENGINE: Tesla's battery module is shaped like a skateboard. Toyoda stated in 2010 after his Tesla Roadster test drive that he felt "the wind of the future."
In 2011, the two began developing RAV4 electric vehicles in collaboration in Canada. They eventually sold approximately 2,500 units over a three-year period. It was a turbulent alliance defined by cultural disputes and product recalls. The collaboration came to an end in 2014. Toyota established its own electric vehicle development team in 2016.
Toyota owns how much Tesla?
According to Bloomberg data, Toyota owned 1.43 percent of Tesla in July 2016. Toyota took a $50 million interest in Tesla in 2010, as automakers competed to create cleaner vehicles in the United States. Toyota sold Tesla $42 million for the closure of its Fremont, California factory.
Toyota sold its final stake in Tesla in 2017.
How was the Toyota-Tesla relationship described in the report?
Although the study was highly speculative, it threw car industry watchers into a frenzy.
The storey simply suggested that "if" Tesla establishes a cooperation with Toyota, it will be able to introduce a low-cost compact SUV EV on a Toyota chassis.
Toyota's automobile output will decline by 11% in 2020 compared to 2019. Tesla's stock increased roughly 40% within the same time period. Tesla is experiencing no shortage of demand for its electric vehicles. The Cybertruck has amassed an unofficial total of 1.25 million pre-orders to date. The Model Y is sold out in China till 2022.
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Our assessment:
Unless both firms confirm the information, it's difficult to take a single-source report seriously. Additionally, the source is nameless, undermining the storey. At the moment, it is merely a claim in need of substantial evidence.
This is not to argue that it is not conceivable. There is no denying Musk and Toyoda's mutual administration. Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest billionaire, who lives in a modest rented pre-fab house, has showed exceptional capital efficiency.
Tesla accelerated the transition to electric vehicles in a way that no other automaker has, paving the way for sustainable transportation today. Toyota just announced its first all-electric crossover, the bZ4X, reintroducing the company to the EV game.
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It's the first model in Toyota's new “bZ” series, which stands for “beyond zero,” or cars that go beyond zero-emissions. The bZ4X has a unique yoke that avoids the need to change grip when steering and a technology that charges the battery using solar power when parked. (Image Credit: Bloomberg)
Tesla appears to be the market leader in EVs at the moment, particularly in terms of self-driving software development. Its sister business, SpaceX, enabled record-low-cost manned launches by enabling LIDAR-guided autonomous docking with the International Space Station and self-landing booster rockets returning to earth autonomously and falling straight down for rapid re-use.
If such brilliance in rocket science were applied to automobile manufacture, it's not difficult to envision significant disruptions in transportation. If the world's top two automakers do actually form a joint venture to make EVs more affordable and reliable, it will appear to be a relationship the world has previously seen, but with new ramifications yet unknown.