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Rumor: Tesla and Toyota may be in talks to develop an electric SUV platform

The two car companies could be about to embark on a new partnership.

Sam Chandler

March 29, 2021 8:35 PM

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Rumors are beginning to circulate that Telsa and Toyota are currently in discussions to work together to develop an electric SUV platform. This would allow Tesla to take advantage of Toyota’s SUV framework for its own electric SUV while Toyota would benefit from Tesla’s technology.

Brought to our attention by Twitter user Sawyer Merritt, the Tesla and Toyota discussions were originally reported on by Chosen Ilbo, a newspaper in South Korea. The report notes that these rumors come from an official from the Japanese automobile industry.

According to the report, this partnership has been in the works since 2020. The report notes that when this partnership is finalized, “Tesla will be able to launch a compact SUV electric vehicle at a low cost using the Toyota platform.” There’s also speculation that this will increase the sales of Tesla vehicles in Japan.

About ten years ago, Toyota had a stake in Telsa, with the two working together in the past on a vehicle. This basically means that it’s not outside the realm of possibility for the two to come together once again. Hopefully, the fruits of this potential cooperation yield better results than the Electric RAV4, which was close to $50,000 USD and was only available in California.

Tesla has been in the news cycle quite a bit recently with Elon Musk claiming that the Cybertruck won’t feature door handles. While it’s not unusual for a Tesla vehicle to not have traditional doorhandles, with some having self-presenting handles, consumers could be in-store to see a Telsa vehicle that completely omits the device.

While these are currently just rumors about a Tesla and Toyota partnership, it’s one that certainly has a bit of weight to it. Be sure to follow Shacknews as we continue to cover Tesla, including its plans for new vehicles as well as other interesting and unique developments.

Sam Chandler

Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler