By Michael Elkins
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and Chinese electric vehicle and battery maker BYD (OTC:BYDDY) on Tuesday denied media reports saying the U.S. electric vehicle maker was ending cooperation with BYD on battery supplies.
The Korean Economic Daily on Sunday cited industry sources as saying Tesla had not asked BYD for an additional supply of batteries for certain Tesla Model 3 vehicles after their supply deal expired earlier this year.
"That media report is false. Relations between Tesla and BYD are positive," Musk said in a tweet on Tuesday.
BYD also issued a statement about the report. The Chinese automaker, whose automotive division is also one of Tesla’s strongest competitors in China, denied the report in a statement to Reuters saying the report "is not in line with the actual situation."
In April 2022, the European Union approved the Model Y with BYD batteries. The Model Y with BYD batteries was listed with a 55kWh battery pack. It had a range of 440 kilometers.
Shares of TSLA are up 5.04% in mid-day trading on Tuesday.