Musk open to supplying batteries to rivals

SEOUL --  Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday that the company is open to licensing software and supplying powertrains and batteries.

Tesla had previously supplied batteries to Mercedes-Benz and Toyota under separate partnership deals. Battery manufacturing is an area that analysts and industry officials say the U.S. electric car maker has a competitive edge compared with legacy automakers.

"Tesla is open to licensing software and supplying powertrains & batteries. We’re just trying to accelerate sustainable energy, not crush competitors!" Musk said in a tweet.

Tesla currently runs a battery joint venture with Panasonic and also sources batteries from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology and South Korea's LG Chem .

Tesla is also planning to expand its own battery facility at its Fremont, California, plant.

Batteries are the most expensive and important component of electric vehicles.

"The supply could lower the entry barriers for startup EV makers, posing a potential threat to legacy automakers, which have their own platforms," said Park Chul-wan, a South Korean battery expert and a professor at Seojeong University.

"The strategy, if successful, will increase the EV market's dependence on Tesla," he said.

Musk said in a recent earnings conference call that the real limitation to Tesla’s growth is battery cell production at an affordable price, and said the company would expand its business with Panasonic, CATL and LG Chem.

In 2014, Musk also said Tesla would allow others to use its patents in hopes of speeding up development of electric cars by all automakers.