Catenaa, Friday, February 21, 2025 – Japan has drawn up plans for Elon Musk’s Tesla to invest in Nissan following the collapse of merger talks with Honda, according to a report from the Financial Times on Friday.
The report said a high-level Japanese group, including a former prime minister, has drawn up plans for Elon Musk’s Tesla to invest in Nissan.
Quoting sources, the report said the investment proposal, led by former Tesla board member Hiro Mizuno, is being supported by ex-Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his former aide Hiroto Izumi.
“The group is hopeful that Tesla will become a strategic investor since they believe it is keen to acquire Nissan’s plants in the United States,” the Financial Times report said.
Last week, Nissan ended talks with Honda for a possible merger as the Japanese carmakers, along with junior partner Mitsubishi, had aimed to combine their businesses to fight back against competition from rival firms, especially in China.
Analysts suggest that the merger among, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi would have created an auto group worth $ 60 billion, and the world’s fourth-largest by vehicle sales after Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai.
However, despite failure in talks, the companies said they would continue their partnership on electric vehicles.
Honda entered negotiations in a leading position. It remains a popular brand globally, producing and selling more cars than Nissan, while Nissan has struggled to recover from a leadership crisis since the arrest of former chief executive and chairman Carlos Ghosn in late 2018.
Ghosn was dismissed from his post over allegations of financial misconduct, which he denies, and has lived as a fugitive in his home country of Lebanon after being smuggled out of Japan in a music equipment box.
In 2024, Nissan announced cost-cutting measures, including cutting 9,000 jobs globally and halving its current chief executive’s pay.
