Elon Musk has rebuffed the idea that Tesla could put money into the struggling carmaker Nissan, after a report that said a Japanese group was seeking its investment sent shares soaring.
Nissan’s stock market value jumped by 9.5% on Friday after claims that the former prime minister Yoshihide Suga was among those who want the US electric carmaker to become a strategic investor, possibly in exchange for Nissan’s American factories.
The mooted investment plan was reported by the Financial Times, which said the push was being led by Suga, who was Japan’s premier for a year in 2020 to 2021, Suga’s former aide Hiroto Izumi and the former Tesla board member Hiro Mizuno.
The report of the Tesla investment proposal came after Nissan this month called off the Honda merger talks after balking at the idea of becoming a subsidiary of the larger company.
Extra US plants could help Tesla as the US president, Donald Trump, appears set on imposing tariffs on the car industry, despite his close relationship with Musk.
