MitchJi
10 MW
I don’t believe that this is likely, but it does make a lot of sense. Daimler makes excellent vans but they really need help with batteries. It was a Daimler engineer who said that the Tesla semi defies the laws of physics.
https://electrek.co/2018/11/19/tesla-mercedes-benz-electric-sprinter-van-elon-musk/
But they could partner up again as Musk said that they would reach out to them about making an electric version of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van:
https://electrek.co/2018/11/19/tesla-mercedes-benz-electric-sprinter-van-elon-musk/
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he will reach out to Daimler to propose a collaboration on an electric version of the Sprinter van.
It wouldn’t be without precedent since Daimler and Tesla have collaborated on electric vehicles in the past.
Tesla supplied the electric powertrains for the first generation electric Smart cars and electric Mercedes-Benz B-Class.
But that was when Daimler was actually a Tesla shareholder.
Back in 2009, Daimler invested $50 million for roughly 9% of Tesla’s stock.
The investment came amidst the financial crisis, which hit automakers quite hard and Musk later admitted that Tesla would have likely gone under if it wasn’t for the investment.
It ended in 2014 when Daimler stopped its powertrain supply contract with Tesla and ended up selling its stake in the company for $780 million – a healthy profit on a $50 million investment....
But they could partner up again as Musk said that they would reach out to them about making an electric version of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van: