Tesla develops the chemistry and has Panasonic manufacture the cells. Tesla builds the battery packs from Panasonic cells. The intellectual property for the ch

Tesla develops the chemistry and has Panasonic manufacture the cells. Tesla builds the battery packs from Panasonic cells. The intellectual property for the chemistry is 100% Tesla’s and can not be reused by Panasonic for other manufacturers. In places where Panasonic builds batteries for other manufacturers, they use more traditional chemistry that includes more rare earth metals. Tesla’s chemistry is patented and can’t be duplicated. It is one of their several “moats”.