(Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc (O:TSLA) had an obligation to pay a total of about $1.7 billion (£1.39 billion) to Japan's Panasonic Corp (T:6752) as of September 30 for electric vehicle battery cells made at Tesla's gigafactory in Nevada, the carmaker said in a regulatory filing.
Panasonic, Tesla's longstanding battery partner, agreed in 2014 to invest in equipment, machinery and other manufacturing tools at the gigafactory, which will make cylindrical lithium-ion cells for Tesla's cars.
Tesla has said it expects to start making batteries at the $5 billion plant by the end of the year.
The batteries will be used initially in Tesla's energy products and later in its cars.
Panasonic, which plans to contribute up to $1.6 billion to produce battery cells for Tesla, cut its annual profit forecast on Monday after bringing forward some of its investment in the gigafactory in anticipation of strong demand.