Tesla, Inc.’s 
TSLA primary battery supplier Panasonic forecasts a 19% rise in US battery demand to 46 gigawatt hours this financial year, citing a market share recovery at its strategic customer, widely understood to be Tesla. The battery division is expected to post operating profit of 173 billion ($1 billion) in the year to March 2027, more than double the prior year. Tesla shares fell 1.53% intraday.
The forecast assumes the overall US electric vehicle market will be flat for the year, with Tesla’s gains coming through market share recovery rather than broader industry growth. Tesla entered the current quarter carrying 50,000 unsold vehicles from a difficult first quarter. US tariffs and the removal of federal EV subsidies under the Trump administration have also weighed on demand.
Panasonic’s annual net profit fell by half to 189.5 billion in the year to March 2026, hit by restructuring charges and the sluggish EV environment. The company is cutting 12,000 jobs and pivoting toward AI data center hardware, pledging 500 billion in investment over three years. It also disclosed further delays to mass production of its next-generation 4680 battery cell, originally expected to begin scaling by March 2024.