Overview
- Tesla is in advanced talks to procure about $2.9 billion of solar panel and cell manufacturing equipment from Chinese suppliers, with Suzhou Maxwell named as a leading candidate alongside Shenzhen S.C New Energy Technology and Laplace Renewable Energy Technology.
- Parts of the roughly 20 billion yuan package require approval from China’s commerce ministry for export, and the scope and timing of those clearances remain uncertain.
- Suppliers were told to deliver the machinery before this autumn, with two sources indicating shipments would head to Texas.
- Solar manufacturing equipment is exempt from U.S. tariffs under policies introduced in 2024 and later extended, reflecting limited domestic alternatives for such machinery.
- Tesla’s internal target is 100 gigawatts of U.S. solar manufacturing capacity by the end of 2028, primarily to power its own operations with some capacity for SpaceX, a push Musk links to rising electricity demand from data centers.