Tesla’s battery partner and long-time supporter, Panasonic, just turned 100 years old. Entrepreneur’s Lydia Belanger reports that throughout the last century, “Panasonic has pivoted regularly, expanded globally and today continues to look toward the future of technology, including teaming up with Tesla.” Panasonic’s financial investments in Tesla aren’t the only support it provides — its rich history is full of lessons that Tesla can learn from in order to successfully grow.
Back in 1918, a young 23-year-old, Konosuke Matsushita, founded the company now known as Panasonic. His design for a new kind of light socket launched the new Japanese business. And early on, “Matsushita was ahead of his time as far as his management approach. When the company was 2 years old and had 28 employees, he formed what he called the ‘Hoichi Kai,’ which translates to ‘one-step society.’ It brought employees together to play sports and participate in other recreational activities.”
Matsushita also had a penchant for generosity and transparency. Belanger reports, “Matsushita’s philosophy was one of trust, and he decided to share trade secrets even with new employees to build trust at all levels of the organization. By the end of 1922, the company had 50 employees and a new factory.”
Matsushita also got the company through tough times with aplomb. Instead of firing workers when inventory piled up, Matsushita said, “We’ll halve production not by laying off workers, but [by] having them work only half days. We will continue to pay the same wages they are getting now, but there will be no holidays. All employees should do their best to sell inventory.” And the plan worked.
Above: The fascinating story of Panasonic’s iconic founder, Konosuke Matsushita (Youtube: Channel Panasonic – Official)
Matsushita was viewed as egalitarian. During the Great Depression, he said, “The mission of a manufacturer is to create material abundance by providing goods as plentiful and inexpensive as tap water.” And he planned far into the future as a “long-term visionary… [Matsushita] proposed a 250-year plan for the company, divided into 10 25-year periods that would be further divided into a 10-year construction phase, a 10-year active phase and a five-year fulfillment phase.”
In addition to light sockets, Panasonic offered an ever-growing, eclectic mix of products over the years. In 1934, “Panasonic produced its first electric motor… [then] from 1945 through 1959, Panasonic began producing agitator washing machines, monochrome TVs, refrigerators, radios, rice cookers, tape recorders and home air conditioners. The company also began expanding globally in the 1950s.”
Konosuke Matsushita passed away on April 27th, 1989, at the age of 94, but his legacy lives on. In the 1980s, “the company expanded its personal electronics offerings… Fast-forward to the digital era, which has pushed Panasonic to pivot further, including ceasing production of analog TVs back in 2006. In 2008, the company finally changed its name from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. to Panasonic Corporation — Panasonic had been one of its many brands.”
More recently, “Panasonic divided itself into four companies based on its four primary business divisions: appliances, eco solutions, AVC networks and automotive and industrial systems.” And in the past few years, “Panasonic announced it would invest more than a [billion] in Tesla Motors’ planned Gigafactory battery plant. It supplies the batteries for Tesla models S, X and 3.” And Panasonic is also a partner at Gigafactory 2 manufacturing Tesla’s solar products.
Panasonic has come a long way in the last 100 years, growing to become “a global leader with over 240,000 employees, with sales of more than $70 billion dollars a year.” Its future plans include a 10-year vision to embrace a wide variety of emerging technologies, from the Internet of Things (IoT) to robotics. And with its Gigafactory partner, Tesla, the company is poised for further breakthroughs in the automotive and energy sectors.
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Note: Article originally published on evannex.com by Matt Pressman; Source: Entrepreneur
Investor's Corner
Ron Baron states Tesla and SpaceX are lifetime investments
Baron, one of Tesla’s longest-standing bulls, reiterated that his personal stake in the company remains fully intact even as volatility pressures the broader market.
Billionaire investor Ron Baron says he isn’t touching a single share of his personal Tesla holdings despite the recent selloff in the tech sector. Baron, one of Tesla’s longest-standing bulls, reiterated that his personal stake in the company remains fully intact even as volatility pressures the broader market.
Baron doubles down on Tesla
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Baron stated that he is largely unfazed by the market downturn, describing his approach during the selloff as simply “looking” for opportunities. He emphasized that Tesla remains the centerpiece of his long-term strategy, recalling that although Baron Funds once sold 30% of its Tesla position due to client pressure, he personally refused to trim any of his personal holdings.
“We sold 30% for clients. I did not sell personally a single share,” he said. Baron’s exposure highlighted this stance, stating that roughly 40% of his personal net worth is invested in Tesla alone. The legendary investor stated that he has already made about $8 billion from Tesla from an investment of $400 million when he started, and believes that figure could rise fivefold over the next decade as the company scales its technology, manufacturing, and autonomy roadmap.
A lifelong investment
Baron’s commitment extends beyond Tesla. He stated that he also holds about 25% of his personal wealth in SpaceX and another 35% in Baron mutual funds, creating a highly concentrated portfolio built around Elon Musk–led companies. During the interview, Baron revisited a decades-old promise he made to his fund’s board when he sought approval to invest in publicly traded companies.
“I told the board, ‘If you let me invest a certain amount of money, then I will promise that I won’t sell any of my stock. I will be the last person out of the stock,’” he said. “I will not sell a single share of my shares until my clients sold 100% of their shares. … And I don’t expect to sell in my lifetime Tesla or SpaceX.”
Watch Ron Baron’s CNBC interview below.
@teslarati :rotating_light: This is why you need to use off-peak rates at Tesla Superchargers! #tesla #evcharging #fyp ♬ Blue Moon – Muspace Lofi
Elon Musk
‘You chose ambition’: Tesla Chair hails shareholders for backing Elon Musk’s vision
Denholm stated that the vote highlighted TSLA investors’ continued confidence in both Musk’s leadership and Tesla’s vision for an autonomous, AI-driven future.
Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm has issued a letter to shareholders celebrating what she described as “overwhelming support” at this year’s Annual Meeting, framing the approval of Elon Musk’s trillion-dollar pay plan as a defining moment in Tesla’s mission.
Denholm stated that the vote highlighted TSLA investors’ continued confidence in both Musk’s leadership and Tesla’s vision for an autonomous, AI-driven future.
Denholm hails shareholder confidence
In her letter, which was posted by the electric vehicle maker on X through Tesla’s official handle, Denholm thanked investors for backing Proposals One, Three, and Four, items she said reaffirm Tesla’s “Master Plan Part IV” and its broader mission to accelerate sustainable prosperity. She characterized the shareholder vote as “a vote of confidence in our visionary leader, Elon,” crediting Musk with transforming Tesla into one of the most valuable companies in history.
“In a year when many tried to sow doubt and negativity, you chose a better future,” Denholm wrote. “You chose ambition. You chose to see what is possible. You chose to back the people who have been in the room since the earliest days, fighting for the mission that first brought us all together—a better world for humanity,” she wrote in her letter.
Her comments framed Musk’s pay package approval not only as a governance milestone but as a symbolic endorsement of Tesla’s long-term trajectory across autonomy, AI, and energy innovation.
“A whole new book” of innovation
Denholm highlighted Tesla’s push toward autonomy as the company’s next major growth phase, citing the Robotaxi program and Optimus humanoid robot as examples of bringing artificial intelligence “into the physical world.” She described this period as potentially “the largest value-creation event in Tesla’s history, and quite possibly in the history of humanity.”
The letter reaffirmed the board’s commitment to direct engagement with shareholders through Tesla’s online platform and live events. Denholm emphasized that feedback from investors “informs our strategy and strengthens us” as Tesla prepares for new technology rollouts and expanded AI capabilities.
“You, our shareholders, have given us the mandate and the runway to execute. We are humbled, and rest assured that we do not take that responsibility lightly… Thank you for believing in Tesla. Thank you for standing with us. We look forward to years of bold leadership and pioneering innovation, fueled by our commitment to creating a better future for all,” she wrote.
Elon Musk
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey endorses Elon Musk Tesla pay package
Dorsey framed the pay package as an engineering and governance crossroads for Tesla.
Twitter co-founder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey has publicly backed Elon Musk’s leadership ahead of Tesla’s pivotal shareholder vote, which is expected to be decided later today at the company’s 2025 annual meeting.
Dorsey framed the pay package as an engineering and governance crossroads for Tesla.
Dorsey’s public nod framed as an engineering defense of Musk
In a post on X, Dorsey weighed in on Tesla’s post about being in a “critical inflection point.” As per the Twitter-co-founder, the vote on Musk’s 2025 performance award is not about compensation. Instead, it’s about ensuring the path for the company’s engineering in the coming years.
“This is not about compensation. it’s about ensuring a principled (and exciting!) engineering approach to the company’s future,” Dorsey wrote on his post, later stating that users of Cash app with TSLA shares would be able to vote for the CEO’s proposed 2025 performance award.
Elon Musk appreciated Dorsey’s endorsement, responding to the Twitter co-founder’s post with a heart emoji. Musk has been pretty thankful for the support for is fellow tech executives, also thanking Michael Dell recently, who also advocated for its proposed 2025 performance award.
Musk’s support
While Elon Musk’s 2025 performance award has received opposition from proxy advisors such as Glass Lewis and ISS, it has received quite a lot of support from longtime bulls such as ARK Invest, and, more recently, Schwab Asset Management following calls from TSLA retail shareholders.
“Schwab Asset Management’s approach to voting on proxy matters is thorough and deliberate. We utilize a structured process that focuses on protecting and promoting shareholder value. We apply our own internal guidelines and do not rely on recommendations from Glass Lewis or ISS. In accordance with this process, Schwab Asset Management intends to vote in favor of the 2025 CEO performance award proposal. We firmly believe that supporting this proposal aligns both management and shareholder interests, ensuring the best outcome for all parties involved,” Charles Schwab told Teslarati.
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