Toyota Motors Company and Tesla Motors signed a new agreement in which the Japanese company buys $50 million of the Sillicon Valley-based firm’s stocks and in return they will help them with developing future electric vehicles, parts, and production system and engineering support. Now this sounds like an odd pairing, because Tesla’s idea of an EV is either a fast sportscar or a beautiful sports saloon, whereas Toyota is more fond of tiny city EVs. There will be some controversy there for sure!

“I sensed the great potential of Tesla’s technology and was impressed by its dedication to monozukuri (Toyota’s approach to manufacturing),” said TMC President Akio Toyoda. “Through this partnership, by working together with a venture business such as Tesla, Toyota would like to learn from the challenging spirit, quick decision-making, and flexibility that Tesla has. Decades ago, Toyota was also born as a venture business. By partnering with Tesla, my hope is that all Toyota employees will recall that ‘venture business spirit,’ and take on the challenges of the future.”

“Toyota is a company founded on innovation, quality, and commitment to sustainable mobility. It is an honor and a powerful endorsement of our technology that Toyota would choose to invest in and partner with Tesla,” said Tesla CEO and cofounder Elon Musk. “We look forward to learning and benefiting from Toyota’s legendary engineering, manufacturing, and production expertise.”