Panasonic shares leaped more than 6 percent on the news that the company is inviting a number of Japanese suppliers to join it in investing in a US car battery plant it plans to build with Tesla.

The newspaper said the investment for the new plant was expected to reach more than $979 million. As a result, Panasonic was the second-most traded stock on the main board.

It is starting to look like Tesla is becoming a buzzword for new developments in the tech industry. Already Apple is rumoured to be thinking of buying it, on the assumption that the world is fed up with its other useless expensive gadgets.

But if Panasonic sees a market of car batteries then it could spark a whole new industry.