Tesla Motors to sell batteries in $43 million deal with Think
SAN CARLOS START-UP EYES RISING MARKET — Tesla Motors, the Silicon Valley electric car start-up, intends to announce today that it has created a new division to sell batteries, and that it has taken a $43 million order.
Context & Ripple Effects
Tesla Motors, the San Carlos electric-car start-up, is announcing a new division whose entire business is selling batteries rather than cars, and it arrives with a $43 million anchor order from Think already on the books. With no prior coverage of Tesla's supply chain in the record, this stands as the earliest documented signal that the company sees battery manufacturing as a standalone market, not just an internal component need.
First-order effects
- Think gains a committed battery supplier for its vehicles, while Tesla immediately holds $43 million in orders for a division announced the same day — revenue that does not depend on selling a single Roadster.
Second-order effects
- Other electric-vehicle start-ups now face a rival that is simultaneously a carmaker and a cell vendor, forcing them to weigh whether to buy from a competitor or build their own supply arrangements.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, vehicle makers split into two businesses under one roof — an automotive company and a battery company — with cell supply becoming a product line whose customers include other carmakers.
The trend: Electric-car makers are beginning to sell their core component — the battery — as a product in its own right, decoupling cell production from vehicle assembly.