TESLA Inc. chief executive Elon Musk and Shenzhen-based electric vehicle and battery maker BYD Co. yesterday denied a media report that said the U.S. company was ending cooperation with BYD on battery supplies.

The Korean Economic Daily on Sunday cited industry sources as saying Tesla had not ask BYD for an additional supply of batteries for certain Tesla Model 3 vehicles after their supply deal expired earlier this year.

“That media report is false. Relations between Tesla and BYD are positive,” Musk said in a tweet yesterday.

In a statement, veteran U.S. investor Warren Buffett-backed BYD said that the report “is not in line with the actual situation.”

BYD executive vice president Lian Yubo in June told Chinese broadcaster CGTN that BYD was preparing to supply Tesla with batteries “very soon.”

“BYD respects Tesla, and we also admire Tesla,” said Lian. “We are now good friends with Elon Musk, and we are going to supply him with batteries very soon.”

But neither company have publicly disclosed any deal since.

BYD has been making its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) “blade batteries” since 2020, for use in its own cars and for sale to other automakers, such as Toyota.

The company said the blade-shaped battery is thinner and longer than conventional lithium iron cells, and thus can maximize the use of available space within the battery pack. It’s also less likely to catch fire even when it’s severely damaged, according to BYD.

Tesla uses LFP batteries supplied by Chinese firm CATL in nearly half of its cars. Tesla also uses nickel and cobalt batteries, supplied by LG Energy Solution and Panasonic.

BYD, now the biggest electric vehicle maker in the world, outsold Tesla by a wide margin last year with the help of its inexpensive electric cars.     (SD-Agencies)