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Toyota sells some Tesla shares, cooperation still possible

Reuters
A security guard walks under the logo of Toyota Motor Corp at the company's showroom in Tokyo June 17, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday it had sold some of its shares in Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O) but that it would continue to study possible cooperation with the U.S. electric car maker in the future.

Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, invested $50 million (31.18 million pounds) in the Palo Alto-based startup in May 2010 ahead of Tesla's initial public offering in June that year.

Toyota said at the time the investment would give it a stake of about 2.5 percent, but the size of its current stake is not clear. Toyota said it would not disclose the timing or amount of the latest sale, which was first reported by the Nikkei business daily.

"We will continue to have good relations with Tesla," Toyota spokesman Ryo Sakai said, adding that the sale resulted from Toyota's regular review of its investments.

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Tesla's shares were trading at $236 on Thursday, up from their IPO price of $17.

Tesla has been supplying batteries and motors for Toyota's RAV4 electric SUVs that went on sale in 2012, but that arrangement is set to end this year after Toyota sold just 2,000 of the vehicles.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the company could sign a new deal with Toyota over the next two to three years.

Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE), the parent of Mercedes-Benz, said earlier this week it sold its remaining 4 percent stake in Tesla for a gain of $780 million. Daimler took a 9.1 percent stake in Tesla for around $50 million in May 2009.

(Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Maki Shiraki; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)