Panasonic To Resume Production At Tesla's New York Factory On Wednesday: Report

Panasonic Corporation PCRFY is looking to restart production at Tesla Inc.'s TSLA New York manufacturing plant on Wednesday, the Verge reported Tuesday.

What Happened

The Japanese electronics giant will spend the first two days performing equipment checks, and standard manufacturing will start Friday, Panasonic North America Solar Energy Division President Mark Shima said in an internal email accessed by the Verge.

Shima told the employees that the company has "completed preparations under close collaboration with Tesla, such as preparation of masks, sanitizers and wipes, set new protocol for entrance, new rules in cafeteria and production floor, new seat assignment in the office area in order to keep 6' to the next person."

It isn't immediately clear if Tesla is also restarting production at the solar panel manufacturing facility.

Why It Matters

A majority of manufacturing at the New York gigafactory has remained shut since March, due to the lockdowns imposed by state authorities to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Tesla recently restarted production at its Fremont factory in California after a week-long public feud with local county officials.

Panasonic was slated to stop production at the solar cell facility in May, but the two companies have extended the joint venture till June as coronavirus halted production in the wake of the pandemic, the Verge noted.

The company's chief financial officer in an earnings briefing on Monday suggested that Panasonic was also looking to expand battery production at Tesla's Nevada factory.

Price Action

Panasonic shares closed 3.6% higher at $8 in the otc market on Tuesday.

Tesla shares closed 0.7% lower at $808.01 the same day, but jumped nearly 0.4% higher at $811.10 in the after-hours session.