The most interesting part of this story is that Panasonic has chosen to broadcast this decision in a national newspaper in way calculated to cause maximum embar

The most interesting part of this story is that Panasonic has chosen to broadcast this decision in a national newspaper in way calculated to cause maximum embarrassment to Tesla, which still depends on investor perceptions of huge upcoming growth to support its stock valuation. An odd thing happened last year when Pana's reported margins dropped while Tesla's went way up during their "miracle Q3." A common theory among Tesla shorts was that Pana had helped them make the quarter with a discount on batteries, to be paid back at some point in the future. Given the big drop in Q1 deliveries and demand standstill in the U.S. after the Model 3 order backlog was depleted, maybe Panasonic is worried they're not going to get paid back?