Warren Buffett-Backed EV Maker To Soon Supply Batteries To Tesla: Report

Warren Buffett-backed Chinese electric vehicle and battery maker BYD Co BYDDY will soon begin supplying batteries to Tesla Inc TSLA, CnEVpost reported on Wednesday, citing the EV maker’s interview with a local media outlet.

What Happened: Lian Yubo, BYD’s executive vice president and director of its automotive engineering research institute, praised Tesla’s prowess and confirmed plans to begin deliveries of the batteries soon.

“Tesla is a very successful company no matter what, BYD respects Tesla and we admire Tesla,” the report said, citing Yubo.

“We are good friends with Elon Musk because we will soon supply batteries to him.”

See Also: Warren Buffett-Backed BYD Continues To Outperform EV Rivals In May

Why It Matters: Shenzhen-based BYD had reportedly secured an initial 10 GWh order for LFP battery cells from the Musk-led company.

The battery cells were reportedly going to be used to power Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. 

BYD had in 2020 unveiled a new blade battery cell that uses the lithium-ion chemistry and that looks like a blade. 

The company at the time said it would use the more safe and dense battery pack in its upcoming EVs and was also in talks with other automakers to supply the cells.

China’s CATL, the world’s largest electric vehicle battery maker, was previously the only supplier for these LFP batteries for the Model 3 and Model Y cars that are built at Tesla’s Shanghai manufacturing plant. 

BYD could be a top contender to be next on Tesla’s supplier list as it has a factory in Lancaster, California, which makes batteries for the electric buses that BYD sells in the United States.

Price Action: BYDDY closed marginally down at $76.47 on Tuesday, according to data from Benzinga Pro.