Just imagine the ideas coming from the Japanese government! This time, the leaders of the country decided to ask Elon Musk for help. A so-called Japanese high-level group, which includes a former prime minister, has developed a plan to attract investments from Tesla. The funds would go to local automaker Nissan Motor to support its operations. According to the Financial Times, citing reliable sources, this decision came after failed merger negotiations with Honda.
As of now, the group has put together an investment plan for Tesla. The expectation is that it will help Nissan Motor, which is facing serious difficulties.
Sources from the Financial Times have reported that the high-ranking group, including Hiro Mizuno, a former Tesla board member, Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s prime minister in 2020–2021, and his ex-advisor Hiroto Izumi, is counting on Musk’s support in securing investments. They believe Tesla is interested in acquiring Nissan's US plants, which could boost domestic production amid tariff threats from President Donald Trump.
Japan is worried that Nissan could be bought out by a foreign company after the automaker ended its merger talks with Honda. Previously, the deal was valued at $58 billion. Earlier this month, Honda and Nissan held board meetings and decided to withdraw their previous agreement, which was signed in December 2024. As a result, the merger talks were officially scrapped.
Nissan is one of Japan’s largest automakers, employing 133,580 people. In the first three quarters of the financial year ending December 31, 2024, the company’s net profit plummeted 64 times year-over-year to 5.148 billion yen (about $33.6 million). This disastrous result was largely due to catastrophic losses in the final quarter when the company reported a 1.4-billion-yen ($92 million) deficit.
American company Tesla Motors, led by Elon Musk, specializes in developing and producing electric vehicles and related technologies. In addition, the company manufactures batteries and electric motors based on its own technology and sells them to other car manufacturers, including Toyota and Daimler.
