But the company remains hesitant to commit to further investment with the electric car maker. That caution stems in part from Panasonic’s stinging experience with plasma displays, in which it invested about 500 billion yen for building factories and other expenses before the technology ultimately lost out to liquid crystal displays. Tsuga himself pulled the plug on the plasma business.

Panasonic is also gearing up for an investment war with Chinese electric car battery rivals. In particular, Fujian-based Contemporary Amperex Tecnhology – or CATL – is spending large sums to rapidly add production capacity, aiming to topple Panasonic by securing business with international automakers on the strength of its low costs.

That presents a pinch for Panasonic: Pouring still more capital into Tesla has its risks, but so does passing up the chance to be the sole supplier for the electric car maker’s China operations and potentially giving its rivals a boost.