A group led by former Tesla Board Member and recent Japanese Prime Minister Hiro Hizuno has assembled a plan for Tesla to invest in struggling domestic automaker Nissan. Sources tell The Financial Times that in exchange for making a strategic investment in the Japanese brand, Tesla will acquire Nissan’s US plants.
The group believes Tesla will find the proposition appealing, given its ongoing interest in expanding its domestic manufacturing in the US. The pressure to expand is on, given that President Trump has indicated he will impose across-the-board tariffs on car imports as early as 2 April 2025. Trump, a close ally of Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has also stated his preference that the electric vehicle sticks to domestic manufacturing rather than building car plants overseas—more specifically, in India.
Tesla does not have a history of investing in other automakers, instead lending its focus to green energy companies like SolarCity Corp. and automated manufacturing firms like Grohmann Engineering and Perbix Machine Co. Neither the automaker or Musk have commented on a potential investment into Nissan.
After tentative plans to merge with Honda and Mitsubishi Motors fell through, Nissan is on the search for a new investor to help turn its fortunes around. While Renault continues to slowly divest its 43% stake in the ailing brand, other companies—most notably Taiwanese semiconductor giant Foxconn—have registered an interest.
The Hizuno-led group’s proposal envisions a “consortium” of investors with Tesla as the largest backer, but it remains open to Foxconn making a minority investment.
