Panasonic Ends Solar Cell Production Partnership with Tesla

Two big players in the renewable energy space are calling it quits. Panasonic and Tesla ended their solar cell manufacturing partnership at Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, New York, this week. The companies initially formed a joint venture in 2016, agreeing that Panasonic would help pay for part of the solar production equipment at Tesla’s facility in Buffalo, Nikkei Asian Review reported. Gigafactory 2 started manufacturing solar panel components the following year. “Called the Solar Roof, the Tesla product is designed to look like regular black roof tiles,” the Nikkei journalists wrote. “But Panasonic-made cells are believed to have failed to achieve this look while also maintaining the efficiency and cost sought by the US company.”