Tesla denies it signed deal with China’s Lishen

Bloomberg

Tesla Inc hasn’t signed any pact with Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock Co, a spokeswoman for the electric-car maker said, denying a Reuters report that it had inked a preliminary agreement with the Chinese firm.
“This is completely false,” according to a WeChat response to a query from Bloomberg News. “Tesla previously received quotes from Lishen, but did not proceed further. We have not signed any agreement of any kind with them.”
Reuters reported that the US carmaker signed a preliminary agreement with Lishen to supply batteries for its new Shanghai car factory in an effort to reduce its reliance on Japan’s Panasonic Corp. The companies had yet to reach a decision on how large an order Tesla would place.